Bobby Unser

Bobby Unser
Unser in 2015
Nationality	American
Born	Robert William Unser (1934-02-20)February 20, 1934 Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Died	Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Related to	Al Unser Sr. (brother) Jerry Unser Jr. (brother) Louis Unser (uncle) Robby Unser (son) Al Unser Jr. (nephew) Johnny Unser (nephew)
Championship Car
Years active	1955–1982
Starts	258
Wins	35
Poles	52
Best finish	1st in 1968 & 1974
Championship titles
1968, 1974 1968, 1975, 1981 1975	USAC National Champion Indianapolis 500 winner International Race of Champions
Formula One World Championship career Active years 1968 Teams BRM Entries 2 (1 start) Championships 0 Wins 0 Podiums 0 Career points 0 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 0 First entry 1968 Italian Grand Prix Last entry 1968 United States Grand Prix

Bobby Unser's 1979 Penske Cosworth Champ Car

Robert William "Bobby" Unser (February 20, 1934 in Colorado Springs, Colorado – May 2, 2021 in Albuquerque, New Mexico) was a United States automobile racer and sports commentator. He was the brother of Al Unser, Jerry Unser and Louis Unser, the father of Robby Unser, and the uncle of Al Unser Jr. and Johnny Unser. The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times. He was one of ten drivers to have won the Indianapolis 500 three or more times and one of only two (followed by Rick Mears) to have won the 500 in three decades (1968, 1975, 1981).

Early life

Unser was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the son of Mary Catherine (Craven) and Jerome Henry Unser, the third oldest of 4 brothers. His paternal grandparents were Swiss. When he turned 1 his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1950, at the age of 15, he won his first championship in Southwest Modified Stock Cars. From 1953 to 1955 he served in the U.S. Air Force and became a top competition sharp shooter in military matches, though he later bitterly regretted it. In 1955 Bobby and brothers Jerry and Al Unser decided to pursue racing careers in USAC. In 1959 his brother Jerry Unser died in an automobile accident at the Indianapolis 500.

Bobby was the father of two sons, Bobby Jr. and Robby, and two daughters, Cindy and Jeri.

IndyCar career

Unser came from a family of racecar drivers. He won numerous racing championships throughout his career, including three Indianapolis 500 titles. He debuted in 1955 at Pike's Peak, dubbed "Unser's Peak" because of his family's history of success at the hill climb. He finished fifth that year, behind his two brothers. A year later he won his first of a record 10 championships at Pike's Peak. He won six straight titles from 1958 to 1963. His streak ended in 1964 when his younger brother Al won the race.

Unser raced in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1963. He crashed early and placed thirty-third. His first Indy-car win came in 1967 at Mosport, in Ontario. A year later, Unser won his first Indianapolis 500, setting the record as the first driver to race over 170 miles per hour at Indianapolis. In 1968 Unser won his first USAC National Driving Championship.

In 1972 Unser set another Indianapolis 500 record for the fastest qualifying time at 195.94 miles per hour. In 1974, he won his second USAC National Driving Championship and a year later he won his second Indianapolis 500 in a race that was rain-shortened on lap 174. From 1979 to 1981 Unser raced in the CART series for Team Penske winning ten races. In 1980 he became the first driver to win the California 500 four times. His career ended in 1981 following a controversial win at Indianapolis.

1981 Indianapolis 500 controversy

Bobby was the center of one of the most controversial finishes in Indy 500 history at the 1981 Indianapolis 500. Unser won the pole in the #3 Roger Penske-owned car and led the most laps (89 laps).

On lap 149, during a caution period, Bobby and Mario Andretti made their pit stop and headed back to the race. Bobby passed eight cars during the caution, while Mario passed two cars. Unser won the race, but was stripped of it the following morning in favor of second-place finisher Mario Andretti. After a 5-month lawsuit and protest by Penske, Bobby Unser was re-awarded the win in October 1981. For his infraction, Unser was instead fined $40,000 ($104,000 in today's money).

Although he was given the win back on appeal, Unser paid a significant price for the controversy. His CART results for the season slumped, he was branded a cheater by the press, and Unser once estimated that the commercial endorsements he lost because of the delayed result cost him $1 million. The outcome of the controversial race caused a bitter Unser to retire from racing at the end of the year. In a 1982 interview Unser refused to come out of retirement and said he retired because following the controversy he became disillusioned with auto-racing and lost his passion for driving race-cars. "Regardless of the outcome it's been ruined for me. I would paint out racing if I painted my future," said Unser in an interview at the time. Unser sat out the 1982 IndyCar season but planned to make a comeback in 1983 driving for Patrick Racing (the team that was stripped of the win). However he changed his mind and retired in 1983.

In his autobiography Winners are Driven, Unser expressed his beliefs that the debacle was politically motivated and that USAC disqualified him (and benefited Andretti), hoping to start a falling-out between Pat Patrick, Mario's car owner and owner of Patrick Racing, and Roger Penske (owner of Unser's car), in order to destroy CART. He claimed that Patrick's team did not protest the finish and that Patrick was on Unser's side in the controversy. For years, Unser and Andretti did not speak to each other willingly until early-2017 when Unser announced on his YouTube channel that Andretti reached out to wish him the best after Unser got extremely sick.

Other achievements

Unser was the 1975 IROC champion and won the 1993 Fast Masters championship.

Unser challenged Dan Gurney to improve the performance of his 1971 USAC car, leading to the development of the Gurney flap. In 1993, Unser set a new Bonneville Salt Flats record at Bonneville Speedway of 223.709 in a D/Gas Modified Roadster that stood for 18 years. He leads the all-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb champion's list with 10 overall wins, having set a new track record nine times.

After retiring from Indycar driving in 1982, Unser did developmental work for Audi, lapping one at 206.8 MPH. In 1986, after a 12-year absence from the Pikes Peak race, he won the event for the tenth time driving an Audi Quattro, breaking the tie he had with his Uncle Louis Unser for nine overall victories each. The 1986 win brought Unser’s total number of Pikes Peak victories to 13, including two stock car class victories (1969 and 1974) and a single sports car class win (1963).

In 2003, he published a book, Winners are Driven: A Champion’s Guide to Success in Business and Life.

Broadcaster

Unser became a television commentator for Indy car races after his retirement working for NBC, ABC, and ESPN. Unser also worked as the analyst for the IMS Radio Network in 1986. In 1989 and 1990, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded ABC's telecast of the Indianapolis 500 the Sports Emmy Award for "Outstanding Live Sports Special". Unser received announcer honors with Paul Page, Sam Posey, and others. Unser also broadcast several NASCAR events between 1986–1992 alongside Page and Benny Parsons. The most famous NASCAR race Unser broadcast was the 1989 The Winston in which Rusty Wallace won by wrecking Darrell Waltrip with 2 laps to go; Unser was the first broadcaster of the broadcasting team to spot the post-race fist-fight between Wallace and Waltrip's pit crews.

Awards

• Unser was selected as one of Sports Illustrated's "Top Five Athletes" in the popular magazine's first twenty years, along with the Martini & Rossi and Olsonite "Driver of the Year" awards in 1974.
• He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1990.
• He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.
• He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1997.
• He was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
• He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994.
• He was presented with Indy 500 Front Row Award in 1999, for being a 9-time front row qualifier (1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981).
• He was selected fourth in The Greatest 33 list of Indianapolis 500 drivers in 2011.

Federal criminal charges

On 20 December 1996, in Colorado, Unser and a friend became lost while snowmobiling near Unser's New Mexico ranch. They abandoned one stuck snowmobile before a storm blinded them both. When the second snowmobile stopped working, they spent two days and nights in subzero weather before finding a barn where they were found. Both men were suffering badly, his friend was suffering from hypothermia, and Unser had vomited blood during this time. Unser was later convicted of a Federal misdemeanor, "unlawful operation of a snowmobile within a National Forest Wilderness Area" (16 U.S.C. 551, 36 C.F.R. 261.16(a)), and was fined $75. Maximum penalties could have been up to six months in jail and up to $5,000.00 in fines. Unser appealed, claiming to have been lost before the accident, but the court ruled that maps were widely available and it was a public welfare offense, thus intent was not necessary. Unser appealed this decision all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but his writ of certiorari was denied.

Death

Bobby Unser died on May 2, 2021 at the age of 87 at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His son, Bobby Unser Jr., died on June 13, 2021, less than two months after his father, as a result of hip surgery. He was 65 years old.

Racing record

American open-wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	Pos	Points
1955				INDY	MIL	LAN	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK 5	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX																		32nd	100
1962				TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	TRE	SPR	MIL	LAN	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC DNQ	PHX																-	0
1963				TRE	INDY 33	MIL	LAN	TRE	SPR 18	MIL	DUQ	ISF	TRE	SAC 7	PHX 9																	25th	100
1964				PHX 17	TRE	INDY 32	MIL 12	LAN 7	TRE 18	SPR 4	MIL 20	DUQ 4	ISF 15	TRE 6	SAC 18	PHX 22																14th	470
1965				PHX 16	TRE 10	INDY 19	MIL 17	LAN 14	PIP 2	TRE 14	IRP 2	ATL 22	LAN 5	MIL 4	SPR 10	MIL 18	DUQ 17	ISF 4	TRE 6	SAC 4	PHX 3											7th	1.402
1966				PHX 19	TRE 18	INDY 8	MIL 16	LAN 14	ATL 14	PIP 1	IRP 4	LAN 19	SPR 5	MIL 8	DUQ 3	ISF 17	TRE DNQ	SAC 5	PHX 4													6th	1.210
1967				PHX 19	TRE 3	INDY 9	MIL 9	LAN 6	PIP 5	MOS 1	MOS 1	IRP 3	LAN 3	MTR 22	MTR 13	SPR 8	MIL 26	DUQ 6	ISF 18	TRE 3	SAC 18	HAN 2	PHX 3	RIV 2								3rd	3.020
1968				HAN 5	LVG 1	PHX 1	TRE 1	INDY 1	MIL 21	MOS 17	MOS	LAN 2	PIP 1	CDR 11	NAZ 7	IRP 3	IRP 21	LAN 2	LAN 16	MTR 2	MTR 11	SPR DNQ	MIL 4	DUQ 18	ISF 16	TRE 7	SAC DNQ	MCH 17	HAN 2	PHX 19	RIV 2	1st	4.330
1969				PHX 8	HAN 7	INDY 3	MIL 16	LAN 1	PIP	CDR 16	NAZ	TRE 23	IRP 24	IRP	MIL 2	SPR 10	DOV 22	DUQ 5	ISF 3	BRN 13	BRN 11	TRE 7	SAC 3	KEN 17	KEN 5	PHX 22	RIV 4					3rd	2.585
1970				PHX 2	SON 18	TRE 4	INDY 11	MIL 6	LAN 1	CDR 4	MCH 2	IRP 24	SPR 9	MIL 19	ONT 22	DUQ 2	ISF DNQ	SED DNQ	TRE 2	SAC 6	PHX 17											2nd	2.260
1971				RAF 27	RAF	PHX 2	TRE 4	INDY 12	MIL 14	POC 9	MCH 18	MIL 1	ONT 21	TRE 1	PHX 8																	6th	1.805
1972				PHX 1	TRE 17	INDY 30	MIL 1	MCH 14	POC 20	MIL Wth	ONT 24	TRE 1	PHX 1																			8th	1.500
1973				TWS 20	TRE 19	TRE 15	INDY 13	MIL 1	POC 10	MCH 20	MIL DNQ	ONT	ONT	ONT 7	MCH 10	MCH 16	TRE 2	TWS 15	PHX 18													12th	1.108
1974				ONT 2	ONT	ONT 1	PHX 2	TRE 1	INDY 2	MIL 21	POC 5	MCH 1	MIL 4	MCH 3	TRE 2	TRE 1	PHX 2															1st	4.870
1975	All American Racers	Eagle 74	Offy 159 L4t	ONT	ONT 10	ONT 2	PHX	TRE	INDY 1	MIL 2	POC 22	MIS 5	MIL																			3rd	2.489
	Jerry O'Connell Racing		Offy Drake L4t											MIS2 3	TRE	PHX
1976	Fletcher Racing	Eagle 74	Offy Drake L4t	PHX 1	TRE DNQ	INDY 10	MIL 3	POC 32	MIS	TWS	TRE	MIL 4	ONT 1	MIS 4	TWS 17	PHX 21																6th	2.080
1977	Fletcher Racing	Lightning Mk1	Offy Drake L4t	ONT 15			TRE WD	INDY 18	MIL 16	POC 19	MOS	MIS 21	TWS 15	MIL 17	ONT 30	MIS																35th	75
		Eagle 74			PHX 17	TWS
		Lightning Mk1	Cosworth DFX V8t														PHX 8
1978	All American Racers	Lightning Mk1	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX 18	ONT 16	TWS 13	TRE 20																									12th	1.122
		Eagle 78						INDY 6	MOS 19	MIL 17	POC 20	MIS 5	ATL 3	TWS 8	MIL 20	ONT 13	MIS	TRE
		Eagle 78 MkII																	SIL 8	BRH 13	PHX 11
1979				ONT	TWS	INDY 5	MIL	POC	TWS	MIL																						-	0
1980				ONT 23	INDY 9	MIL 1	POC 1	MDO 15																								3rd	1,334
1981-82				INDY 1	POC	ILL	DUQ	ISF	INDY DNQ																							-	0

CART

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
1979	Team Penske	Penske PC-7	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX 5	ATL1 7	ATL2 4	INDY 5	TRE1 1	TRE2 1	MIS1 19	MIS2 1	WGL 1	TRE3 2	ONT 1	MIS3 1	ATL3 3	PHX2 2	2nd	3820
1980	Team Penske	Penske PC-9	Cosworth DFX V8t	ONT1 23	INDY 19	MIL1 1	POC 1	MDO 15	MIS1 2	WGL 1	MIL2 3	ONT2 1	MIS2 2	MEX 2	PHX DNS			2nd	3714
1981	Team Penske	Penske PC-9B	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX1 2	MIL1 21	ATL1 13	ATL2 6	MIS1 16	RIV 9	MIL2 3	MIS2 7	WGL 17	MEX 15	PHX2 2				7th	99

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1963	Kurtis 500K	Novi	16th	33rd
1964	Ferguson P104	Novi	22nd	32nd
1965	Ferguson P104	Novi	8th	19th
1966	Huffaker 66	Offy	28th	8th
1967	Eagle 67	Ford	8th	9th
1968	Eagle 68	Offy	3rd	1st
1969	Lola T152	Offy	3rd	3rd
1970	Eagle 67	Ford	7th	11th
1971	Eagle 71	Offy	3rd	12th
1972	Eagle 72	Offy	1st	30th
1973	Eagle 73	Offy	2nd	13th
1974	Eagle 74	Offy	7th	2nd
1975	Eagle 74	Offy	3rd	1st
1976	Eagle 74–76	Offy	12th	10th
1977	Lightning Mk1/77	Offy	2nd	18th
1978	Eagle 78	Ford Cosworth DFX	19th	6th
1979	Penske PC-7	Ford Cosworth DFX	4th	5th
1980	Penske PC-9	Ford Cosworth DFX	3rd	19th
1981	Penske PC-9B	Ford Cosworth DFX	1st	1st

Indy 500 qualifying results

Year	Att #	Date	Time	Qual Day	Car #	Laps	Qual Time	Qual Speed	Rank	Start	Comment
1967	4	05-13	4	1	6	4	—	164.752	9	8
1968	6	05-18	6	1	3	4	—	169.507	3	3
1969	12	05-24	12	2	1	4	3:32.1600	169.683	3	3
1970	24	05-16	24	1	3	4	3:33.6400	168.508	8	7
1971	17	05-15	17	1	2	4	3:24.7600	175.816	3	3
1972	13	05-14	16:49	1	6	4	3:03.7300	195.940	1	1
1973	19	05-12	13:28	1	8	0	—	—	—	—
1973	29	05-12	17:20	1	8	4	3:01.6500	198.183	2	2
1974	14	05-11	11:40	1	48	4	3:14.4100	185.176	8	7
1975	16	05-10	13:14	1	48	4	3:08.4100	191.073	3	3
1976	1	05-15	14:36	1	3	1	—	—	—	—	PULLED OFF
1976	34	05-16	13:15	2	3	4	3:11.9800	187.520	5	12
1977	6	05-14	11:44	1	6	1	—	—	—	—	PULLED OFF
1977	32	05-14	16:48	1	6	4	3:02.0700	197.726	2	2
1978	30	05-20	17:07	2	48	4	3:04.9400	194.658	10	20
1979	17	05-13	14:08	1	12	4	3:09.5600	189.913	4	4
1980	23	05-10	14:16	1	11	4	3:09.4800	189.994	3	3
1981	19	05-16	11:36	1	3	4	2:59.5100	200.546	2	1

Complete Formula One World Championship results

Unser participated in 2 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix.

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	WDC	Points
1968	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P126	BRM P101 3.0 V12	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA DNS	CAN			NC	0
		BRM P138												USA Ret	MEX

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	NGNC	Pts	Ref
1969	Smokey Yunick	13	Ford	MGR	MGY	RSD	DAY	DAY 4	DAY 42	CAR	AUG	BRI	ATL	CLB	HCY	GPS	RCH	NWS	MAR	AWS	DAR	BLV	LGY	CLT	MGR	SMR	MCH	KPT	GPS	NCF	DAY	DOV	TPN	TRN	BLV	BRI	NSV	SMR	ATL	MCH	SBO	BGS	AWS	DAR	HCY	RCH	TAL	CLB	MAR	NWS	CLT	SVH	AUG	CAR	JFC	MGR	TWS	NA	-

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1972	Nichels	99	Chevy	RSD	DAY	RCH	ONT	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	MCH	RSD	TWS	DAY	BRI	TRN	ATL	TAL	MCH	NSV	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 43	CAR	TWS	NA	-
1973	Holman-Moody	41	Ford	RSD 4	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	NWS	DAR	MAR	TAL	NSV	CLT	DOV	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY	BRI	ATL	TAL	NSV	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT	CAR				NA	-

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1969	Smokey Yunick	Ford	4	42

External links

• Bobby Unser driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Bobby Unser Photos
• The Greatest 33
• Bobby Unser at the Internet Movie Database

Preceded by Mark Donohue	IROC Champion IROC II (1975)	Succeeded by A. J. Foyt
Preceded by A. J. Foyt	Indianapolis 500 Winner 1968	Succeeded by Mario Andretti
Preceded by Johnny Rutherford	Indianapolis 500 Winner 1975	Succeeded by Johnny Rutherford
Preceded by Johnny Rutherford	Indianapolis 500 Winner 1981	Succeeded by Gordon Johncock