48 replies to this topic

[H0R]

A true legend of Indycar racing and one of only four men ever to win the Indianapolis 500 more than three times. (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987)

We all knew how fragile he appeard when Mears, Foyt and him welcomed Helio into their exclusive circle. As it was reported today he was battling cancer and succumbed to the illness yesterday.

Godspeed, Big Al.

 

 

https://twitter.com/...225015644200962

https://www.instagra...ton_share_sheet

 

Edited by H0R, 10 December 2021 - 08:59.

[PayasYouRace]

Aww. Such sad news. Another legend gone. Glad he was around for Helio’s 4th.

[absinthedude]

Bummer. Not unexpected but bummer. 

[Frood]

Sad news. RIP, Big Al. Not been a good year for the Unser family with Bobby and Bobby's son also having passed away, so I hope they're doing as well as they can in the situation.

[pacificquay]

RIP Alfred.

A life well lived.

[Henri Greuter]

I created a thread in the Nostagia Forum to memorize Al,

 

But also over here,

 

RIP BIG AL,

 

Arguebly the best of the Unsers and arguebly the best of the Big Four of Indy

 

I'll never forget your sense of humour when, in 1990, your son had posted the fastest lap ever at the Speedway in practice,he commented that he never had felt the Short Chutes to be that short.

You, stuck in that horrible March 90CA-Alfa Romeo contraption added to that that you, on the other hand had not realized since some times that those very same Chutes were so long.

 

Thanks for the memories.

[GlenWatkins]

A sad day, I had heard recently that he was not long for this world.  RIP Big Al.

[Risil]

That's a great story Henri!

 

I don't have one but I do recall thinking while wandering around the speedway in 2016 how wonderful it was (and how lucky the rest of us were) that so much living history was walking around the precinct, in the form of the Unsers, Johnny Rutherford, Foyt, Andretti, Parnelli Jones and so forth. That window is beginning to close.

 

As for his career, he won four Indy 500s, the first and last of which, in 1969 and 1987, must have been to all intents and purposes different sports. I'm very sorry to hear the news but his achievements will live a long time yet.

[FLB]

Together again. Their racing passion and abilities knew few equals.

 

Jerry was already waiting for them...

 

[paulb]

RIP, Al.

A classy racer and gentleman.

[Henri Greuter]

Jerry was already waiting for them...

 

 

 

So did Pop & Mum, What a Chili party that must have been now Mum had all her children back again....

Mum was famous for those chili 's....
 

Edited by Henri Greuter, 10 December 2021 - 11:05.

[FLB]

Speaking of which, we have a close championship that will be decied at Abu Dhabi this weekend. Can you imagine the same, but between father and son (CART, 1985)?

 

https://www.motorspo...r-world-series/

Edited by FLB, 10 December 2021 - 11:26.

[FLB]

So did Pop & Mum, What a Chili party that must have been now Mum had all her children back again....

Mum was famous for those chili 's....
 

The biggest pain a human being can know is losing a child, something he shared with his parents (Debbie, in 1982)... 

 

https://www.nytimes....ser-killed.html

 

 

The Unser Clan has known great joy, but it has also known great, great pain. Their resilience is something that has always impressed me.

Edited by FLB, 10 December 2021 - 11:13.

[Alan Lewis]

Woke up to the news this morning. Very sad, especially with Bobby going not long ago.

My introduction to Indycar, like many Brits of my generation I suppose, was ITV's World of Sport program showing edited highlights of the ABC coverage in the early seventies when the Unsers were in their pomp.

There was Jackie Stewart's commentary to give us a familiar voice, but for a young kid who (thought he) knew all about Formula 1, this seemed like a strange, new world. Which, of course, it was.

RIP, Big Al.

[Dolph]

RIP Big Al

[cpbell]

R.I.P.

[Bleu]

Good thing they were able to take this picture

[jcbc3]

I vaguely remember writing a letter to the editor of Autosport complaining they DIDN'T put Al on the front page after the '87 Indy 500 win.

[FLB]

I vaguely remember writing a letter to the editor of Autosport complaining they DIDN'T put Al on the front page after the '87 Indy 500 win.

I imagine Nigel Roebuck would have agreed with you, but this was (perhaps as this was) the very hight of Mansell-mania...

[jcbc3]

It was worse. I just looked it up. They put Guerrero on the front page

 

(I have nothing against Roberto at all and he was part of the Indy story that year, but not the main story. Which I wrote to the editor. And the letter wasn't even published much to my chagrin!)

[juicy sushi]

A huge loss to a driver who probably gets much less attention than he is due, given how much of a force he was during his career.  Not as outspoken or demonstrably charismatic as some of his competitors, but when you look at his record...

[red stick]

Such sad news to wake up to.  R.I.P., Big Al.

 

I've thought it interesting that two brothers could come to racing with such different philosophies.  For Bobby, it was all about "The Show"--pole, leading laps, having everyone know how fast you were.  Al, as most recently recounted in Rick Mears's interview with Curt Cavin on Trackside, didn't much care where he qualified, but saw a race weekend as a series of opportunities to make sure your car was in the right place on the only lap that counted--the last.  And Mears, who teamed with both at various points of his career, clearly borrowed from both.   

[Sam1]

Godspeed, Big Al.

[red stick]

Close encounters, indeed!

 

Thanks to you and paulb and all the volunteers who make racing possible.

[B Squared]

Thanks Mark; I can't believe it happened 31 (!) years ago. 

[Jim Thurman]

That's a great story Henri!

 

I don't have one but I do recall thinking while wandering around the speedway in 2016 how wonderful it was (and how lucky the rest of us were) that so much living history was walking around the precinct, in the form of the Unsers, Johnny Rutherford, Foyt, Andretti, Parnelli Jones and so forth. That window is beginning to close.

 

As for his career, he won four Indy 500s, the first and last of which, in 1969 and 1987, must have been to all intents and purposes different sports. I'm very sorry to hear the news but his achievements will live a long time yet.

 

Well stated Risil. To be pedantic, Al's first win was in 1970, but yes, quite a contrast from the early days of spoilers and small wings/winglets through full ground effects. At least you won't get upset over being corrected, unlike some folks around here.

 

My favorite drivers are thinking drivers, and Al Unser was the epitome of a thinking driver. And, as mentioned, such a contrast in styles from brother, Bobby.

[Risil]

Well stated Risil. To be pedantic, Al's first win was in 1970, but yes, quite a contrast from the early days of spoilers and small wings/winglets through full ground effects. At least you won't get upset over being corrected, unlike some folks around here.

 

My favorite drivers are thinking drivers, and Al Unser was the epitome of a thinking driver. And, as mentioned, such a contrast in styles from brother, Bobby.

 

I was reading Xpat's PC post about being there for Al's second win in 1971 and I thought, that can't be right because he won his first two Indy 500s in consecutive years. Then the penny dropped! Of course 1969 was Mario's year.

[mclarensmps]

Rest in Peace, Al

[Risil]

Comparisons are pointless but I amused myself today thinking of the F1 equivalent in which Jackie Stewart wins a final world championship (with McLaren?) in 1985, gets an emotional final Grand Prix victory in 1987 after Mansell, Piquet and Prost drop out, then drops down the grid, finally calling it a day in 1994 after failing to get any speed at all out of a chancy new entry (Pacific?).

[juicy sushi]

Comparisons are pointless but I amused myself today thinking of the F1 equivalent in which Jackie Stewart wins a final world championship (with McLaren?) in 1985, gets an emotional final Grand Prix victory in 1987 after Mansell, Piquet and Prost drop out, then drops down the grid, finally calling it a day in 1994 after failing to get any speed at all out of a chancy new entry (Pacific?).

That is probably the best approximation.

[Squeed]

Rest in Peace Mr. Unser.  

[FNG]

Legend. that whole family are legends. between the Unsers it's 9, NINE Indy 500 wins. Incredible.

[Collombin]

Andrettis win Rookie of the Year, Unsers win the race.

[jonpollak]

Just woke up to this news.
Shelly told me once that he was the best person in the entire clan.

RIP Big Al. !!!
Jp

[FLB]

Andrettis win Rookie of the Year, Unsers win the race.

The '63, '64, '65 rookie crops at Indy were just jaw-dropping.

 

('62 wasn't bad either, considering it had one Daniel Sexton Gurney in it and '66 had two furture WDCs...)

Edited by FLB, 10 December 2021 - 19:26.

[Collombin]

The '63, '64, '65 rookie crops at Indy were just jaw-dropping.

Especially if you include those who did not race - eg 1963 had Graham Hill and Pedro Rodriguez, 1964 had Donald Davidson. 1965's was amazing just including those who did.

[Squeed]

The '63, '64, '65 rookie crops at Indy were just jaw-dropping.

 

('62 wasn't bad either, considering it had one Daniel Sexton Gurney in it and '66 had two furture WDCs...)

 

When Big Al won the 500, it truly was the biggest race in the world.  

[JacnGille]

Sad news

[Henri Greuter]

Al has many records and statistics to his name,

 

Here are some of the lesser known ones.

 

Al was the first driver ever to race at Indy with a Cosworth DFX engine: 1976  (7th after qualifying 4th)

Al was the first driver ever to win Indy with a Cosworth DFX engine:  1978

Al was the last driver ever to win Indy with a Cosworth DFX engine:  1987

 

Al was the last ever driver to win Indy with a March chassis:  1987, in a one year old type 86C

Al was the last ever driver to finish at Indy (thus getting the chequered flag) with a March chassis:  1990 with a March 90CA-Alfa Romeo (13th after starting 30th, flagged after 186 laps)

 

[Collombin]

Is he still the only driver to win Indy on his birthday?

His 1970 was one of the most dominant champcar campaigns in history, as was the first half of 1971 - but that season then fell apart as I think he retired from every race in the second half!

[Frood]

Is he still the only driver to win Indy on his birthday?

Only driver who started in the winning car, yes.

 

(Joe Boyer.)

[Jim Thurman]

The '63, '64, '65 rookie crops at Indy were just jaw-dropping.

 

('62 wasn't bad either, considering it had one Daniel Sexton Gurney in it and '66 had two furture WDCs...)

 

Indeed, then again a third of the 1965 field were rookies, an unusually high number, as there was a rather pronounced changing of the guard. And one of the better "rookie" drives in 1965 was turned in by a driver who has to rank as the most obscure of the eleven.

[Jim Thurman]

I've got to admit I wasn't a huge Al Unser fan during the bulk of his career. No dislike and it was nothing personal, I just rooted for the underdogs, those who hadn't broken through for victories or seemed to rarely get there, which was primarily due to the utter domination by Foyt, the Unsers and Andretti.

 

I was more a Rutherford, Ruby, McCluskey, McElreath guy. Rutherford until he joined the above foursome in winning more consistently.

 

I greatly admired Al Unser's smooth, thinking style. NASCAR driver David Pearson is a great comparison style-wise. Often they both seemed to not be in the hunt for much of the race, then would materialize amongst the leaders in the late going in races that were often about pacing and gradually improving the car over the race distance.

[StraightEdge]

RIP Big Al. The guy can still go even in his twilight of his career. He's the first driver to finish all 200 laps at Indy driving in a stock block Buick V6 engine and on the podium as well. We all know those engines were fast but destine to fall apart catastrophically anything anywhere on the track. Not Big Al. He made it last all the way to the checkered flag just like he always did in every race he drove

[Zmeej]

RIP

[RogerStone]

Legend RIP Big Al. 

[GlenWatkins]

Good thing they were able to take this picture

 

Good thing that they took more than one!

 

photo courtesy Fox Sports

[red stick]

Pruett does what Miller used to . . .

 

https://racer.com/20...ss-of-al-unser/

[paulb]

Pruett does what Miller used to . . .

 

https://racer.com/20...ss-of-al-unser/

Wonderful piece. I especially liked the Foyt Daytona 24hr piece.

 

I hope that more drivers of Al’s demeanor and talent make it to the top ranks of open wheel racing. I see Dixon and Palou in a similar category.