AL UNSER JR

Born: 4-19-62     Height: 5'10     Weight: 150 lbs

Turned Pro: 1982                   Country: USA

Team: Penske

Career Highlights

• 1982: Made PPG Cup debut with 5th place in the California 500.
  
• 1983: First full season with 13 starts. Finished 7th in PPG points. Became the youngest driver to pass 200 mph barrier at Indy.
  
• 1984: Won first PPG Cup event on Father's Day at Portland. Placed 6th in the PPG point standings.
  
• 1985: Lost closest point battle in Indy Car history (151-150) to his father, Al Unser Sr. Joined Shierson Racing. Captured back-to-back wins at the Marlboro Grand Prix and Cleveland.
  
• 1986: Finished 4th in the driver point standings. Finished in the top 5 seven times.
  
• 1987: Failed to win a race for the first time since 1983, but still finished 3rd in the PPG points, with seven top 5 finishes. Won 2nd consecutive 24 hours of Daytona.
  
• 1988: Won four races: Long Beach, Toronto, Meadowlands, and Miami. Finished 2nd in the point standings. Joined Galles Racing. Had eight top 5 finishes. Won IROC championship.
  
• 1989: Scored first pole of his career at Long Beach and won the race. Made contact with Emerson Fittipaldi on lap 198 of the Indy 500, crashing into the wall and giving Fittipaldi the win. Finished 5th in points.
  
• 1990: Finished 1st in points, winning the PPG Indy Car World Series championship. Won 6 races. Won first 500-mile event at the Marlboro 500 in Michigan. Named Driver of the Year.
  
• 1991: Finished 3rd in points, with 13 top 5 finishes in 17 races. Won Long Beach for the 4th consecutive year.
  
• 1992: Won his first Indy 500, by the closest margin in history, beating Scott Goodyear by .043 seconds. Finished 3rd in the PPG points.
  
• 1993: Won at Vancouver and finished in the top 5 five times. Signed with Marlboro Team Penske for 1994 season.
  
• 1994: Won his 2nd Indy 500 and PPG Cup. Started all 16 races and won 8 of them: Long Beach, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Portland, Cleveland, Mid-Ohio, New Hampshire, and Vancouver. Won the pole at Indianapolis, Portland, Cleveland, and Mid-Ohio. Led the most laps of anyone. Won more than $3.5 million in prize money. Named ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year.
  
• 1995: Finished 2nd in the PPG Cup standings. Won at Mid-Ohio, Vancouver, and Long Beach.
  

Career Statistics
Indy 500 Victories: 2 (1992,1994)
Indy 500 Poles: 1 (1994)
IndyCar Victories: 31
IndyCar Poles: 7
IndyCar Earnings: $16.7 million

CAREER POINTS (Standing):
1982:  30 (21st)   1986: 137 (4th)    1990: 210 (1st)    1994: 225 (1st)
1983:  89 (7th)    1987: 107 (3rd)    1991: 197 (3rd)    1995: 161 (2nd)
1984: 103 (6th)    1988: 149 (2nd)    1992: 169 (3rd)
1985: 150 (2nd)    1989: 136 (5th)    1993: 100 (7th)

Career Records

Links

• Unser's bio from the Indycar home page
• Indycar home page
• Sports

Athletes

Click here to go back to People.

Click here to go back to the home page.