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113-526: After his son Al Unser Jr. joined the national championship circuit in 1983, Unser was generally known professionally by the retronym "Al Unser Sr." He was also nicknamed "Big Al", and Al Unser Jr. was likewise nicknamed "Little Al". Unser was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico , the youngest of four sons of Mary Catherine (Craven) and Jerome Henry "Jerry" Unser. His father and two uncles, Louis and Joe, were also drivers. Beginning in 1926 they competed in

226-419: A Williams F1 car but never competed in the series. In 1994 , Unser again won at Indy , this time with Penske Racing . His teammates were Emerson Fittipaldi , the man whom he battled with five years before, and Paul Tracy . Unser turned in a dominant season-long performance, winning eight of 16 races on his way to his second CART championship, as well as being named ABC 's Wide World of Sports Athlete of

339-414: A 19-year partnership. The team subsequently changed their livery to black and white with red trim, reflecting Verizon sponsorship (similar to McLaren Formula One team when they had a black-silver livery from 1997 to 2005 reflecting Mercedes-Benz engines and West sponsorship). Penske first fielded a blue Sunoco 1967 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Mark Donohue in this series designed for Pony cars like

452-492: A charging Guerrero by 4.5 seconds to win his fourth Indy 500, only five days before his 48th birthday. In doing so he tied Foyt as the winningest Indy 500 driver and broke brother Bobby's record as the oldest Indy winner. Unser rode the wave of his fourth Indy victory to secure a ride at Penske for the Michigan 500 , Pocono 500 , and Marlboro Challenge for 1987. Near the end of the year, Unser had two other starts. He drove as

565-442: A commanding 35 second lead. Although suffering right front-wing misalignment due to impacting a tire on his final pit stop, a situation that led to the lead shrinking steadily over the race's final 20 laps, it nevertheless proved wide enough for victory by nine seconds to spare at the checkered flag. Unser's race average speed of 161.363 mph (259.689 km/h) ranked as the then-second fastest ever run (one mile per hour less than

678-415: A fourth time. On October 1, 2021, Unser's memoir entitled Al Unser Jr: A Checkered Past , co-authored by Jade Gurss, was published by Octane Press. Unser married Shelley; the couple later divorced. He has four children, Al Richard Unser , Cody Unser, Shannon Unser, and Joe Unser. Cody lost the use of her legs on February 5, 1999, when she was 12 years old. She, along with her mother Shelley, founded

791-436: A performance in a nearly twenty years; none of Team Penske's drivers qualified inside the top fifteen, Will Power was almost bumped from the starting lineup, and their best result was a third-place via a late charge by Simon Pagenaud. A bright spot for the team was their partnership with all-female operated Paretta Autosport team for the 2021 Indianapolis 500 ; Team Penske prepped a chassis leased from Juncos Racing and helped

904-749: A reference of Porsche Motorsport works team. The Porsche RS Spyder made its successful debut at the ALMS season final race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca . The " Porsche Junioren " factory drivers Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr finished 1st in LMP2 Class and 5th Overall in the 4–Hour Endurance Race. The livery of the Penske Racing American Le Mans Series team was inspired by Jordan EJ12 's DHL Formula 1 livery driven by Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato . In 2006, Penske Motorsports fielded two LMP2 Porsche RS Spyder in

1017-497: A return to active competition. Unser easily put the car in the field on the third day of time trials. At the start Unser was in the 20th position. On a day when heavy attrition felled most of the field's front-runners, including the overwhelmingly dominant Newman-Haas entry of Mario Andretti , Unser worked his way steadily forward and took the lead on the 183rd lap, after Roberto Guerrero 's car stalled on his final pit stop. Averaging 162.175 mph (260.995 km/h), Unser bested

1130-466: A ride during the first week of practice. A last-minute deal with the UNO/Granatelli team (where he would be Arie Luyendyk 's teammate) fell through when there was not enough time to prepare the car. Instead of jumping into another car "just to make the show," Unser sat out the 1991 race and watched from the sidelines for the first time since 1969. In 1992 , Unser entered the month of May for

1243-457: A ride for the 2004 season . He finally signed with Patrick Racing three races into the season, but after a 22nd-place finish in Richmond , Unser finally announced his retirement from racing on June 30, 2004. Unser continued to remain involved in racing, however, outside of a driving capacity. He served as an adviser for Patrick Racing and worked as a mentor for his son, Al Richard Unser , who

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1356-510: A ride. In the 1983 season, Unser joined Team Penske and drove for four years in a Penske-owned car. Unser controlled the late stages of the 1983 Indianapolis 500 , leading 61 laps. With less than 20 laps to go, Unser got challenges from Tom Sneva who led the most laps. With help from his son - who was several laps down - Unser began pulling away from Sneva. However Sneva got by Al Jr., and set sail for Unser Sr.. Sneva caught up to Unser within one lap of passing Al Jr., and passed him to retake

1469-555: A second championship for the team in 2019 while Will Power and Simon Pagenaud respectively won back-to-back Indianapolis 500s in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 the team would win the most races of any team in the IndyCar series but did not win the Indianapolis 500 or secure the IndyCar championship, with Newgarden being unable to defend his title against Scott Dixon. In 2021 Team Penske expanded again to four-time cars. The year also marked

1582-538: A serious concussion, and was declared unfit to drive. Meanwhile, the Penske team's new Penske PC-16 chassis had been uncompetitive during practice. By the end of the first week of practice, Penske parked the PC-16s and elected to qualify back-up cars for the race. Mears and Sullivan were provided 1986 March - Ilmor Chevrolet machines, while a third car, a 1986 March- Cosworth , was planned for third driver. Midway through

1695-449: A shares at Ilmor Engineering Ltd. as well as Chevrolet official team vehicles, financial support and also Chevrolet and Ilmor staff would work with the team at their Mooresville base. Once again, Penske would dominate the early portion of the season, winning 4 consecutive races, with Castroneves taking the season opener at St. Petersburg, and Power capturing wins at Barber, Long Beach, and São Paulo. Briscoe would have struggles throughout

1808-449: A substitute for Roberto Guerrero at Nazareth, and had a competitive run until crashing a few laps short of the finish. He was then hired to drive the brand new Porsche Indy car at Laguna Seca. The team was still in its infancy, and the car dropped out. Unser left the team after only one race. In 1988 and 1989, Unser returned to Penske to secure a ride at the three 500-miles races (Indianapolis, Michigan, Pocono). Unser appeared headed for

1921-444: A third Pocono 500 victory during the 1988 Pocono 500 until he suffered ignition failure while leading with 28 laps remaining. Unser had led a race-high 79 laps. After reorganization at Team Penske in 1990, Unser was finally crowded out of his part-time ride. With competitive rides filling up, and his career winding down, he joined the sub-par Patrick Racing Alfa Romeo team for 1990. After finishing 13th at Indy, Unser returned to

2034-489: A two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona . He has the most Long Beach Grand Prix victories in history, winning six times. Unser was born into a racing family in Albuquerque, New Mexico . He is the son of Al Unser and the nephew of Bobby Unser , both Indianapolis 500 winners themselves. The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times. By the age of 11, Al Junior was racing sprint cars . After high school, he

2147-801: A win in a Formula One race. In 1971 Penske had sponsored the McLaren car entered in the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix by the White Racing privateer team and in the 1971 United States Grand Prix by the Kirk White privateer team. At the Canadian Grand Prix Mark Donohue took the Penske-sponsored McLaren car to a podium finish. Penske returned three years later, in the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix , with their own works team as well as own chassis,

2260-526: Is a division of Penske Corporation , and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske . The team president is Tim Cindric . Team Penske currently fields three cars: the No. 2 Hitachi Dallara / Chevrolet for Josef Newgarden , the No. 3 Dallara / Chevrolet driven by Scott McLaughlin , and the No. 12 Verizon Dallara / Chevrolet driven by Will Power . Notable past drivers include 4-time Indianapolis 500 winners Al Unser , Rick Mears , and Helio Castroneves . At

2373-573: Is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series , NASCAR Cup Series , IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship . Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona , the organization has also competed in various other types of professional racing such as Formula One , Can-Am , Trans Am , and Australia's Supercars Championship . Altogether, Team Penske has earned over 500 victories and over 40 championships in all of auto racing. Team Penske

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2486-583: Is an American retired racing driver . Known primarily for his Championship car career, Unser won two CART championships, and is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 . Early in his career, Unser found success in the Can-Am series , winning the championship in 1982 . He joined his great uncle , uncle , and father, as a winner of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb , doing so in 1983. He is

2599-550: Is currently the sixth-most all-time in American open-wheel racing (as of 2013). As a two-time Indy 500 and two-time overall points champion, Unser enjoyed a decorated career as one of the most dynamic and successful drivers in American auto racing.(9) Unser would go on to win a total of three races in his IRL career, but after breaking his pelvis in an all-terrain vehicle accident in October 2003 , Unser had difficulty securing

2712-543: Is entered again at Thunderhill for the 25 Hours. Because of his age (over 50), Unser is eligible to drop down a level from professional class to an "amateur" class (Silver level) under the FIA driver rankings used for sportscar races, although the National Auto Sport Association does not use such ratings. On May 20, 2019, just days before the 2019 Indianapolis 500 , Unser Jr. was charged for DUI for

2825-621: Is on the board of Baltimore Racing Development and helped announce plans for the 2011 Baltimore Grand Prix on August 17, 2009. Unser was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009. On September 29, 2011, Unser was arrested in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on charges of reckless driving and aggravated driving while intoxicated. Charges stemmed from an incident where Unser reportedly drag raced his Chevrolet Suburban SUV at speeds over 100 mph (160 km/h). He

2938-519: The 12 Hours of Sebring the "Sunoco" made the pole again but finished the race at the sixth position after making contact with Pedro Rodrigez's 917. Despite this misfortune, the car had proved to be a serious opponent for the 917. Not only this car was the fastest on track in Daytona and Sebring but it was also the car that had the shortest refueling time. The presence of the 512 M "Sunoco" forced Porsche to pursue his effort of research and development on

3051-710: The 12 Hours of Sebring . This was Porsche 's first overall win in the race since 1988 in a Porsche 962 . 2008 team lineup: On December 4, 2008, Roger Penske announced that the Team Penske officially shut down its participation in the American Le Mans Series and thus defected to ALMS's rival Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series for the full 2009 season. The team utilized a Porsche-powered Riley with Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas as their official drivers. However, in late 2009, Roger Penske announced that

3164-458: The 1986 and 1988 IROC championships, the final Indycar driver to win an IROC championship. Unser won the 24 Hours of Daytona , also at age 24 for the first time in 1986 and again in 1987. Unser continued to improve on the CART circuit, finishing fourth in the points standings in 1986 , third in 1987 , second in 1988 and finally winning the series for the first time in 1990 . In 1989 , Unser

3277-526: The 2006 IRL season , they would consolidate IRL and NASCAR operations at the team's Mooresville North Carolina facility; with the flooding in Pennsylvania in 2006, the team's operations were moved to Mooresville earlier than expected. Roger Penske has been involved with IndyCar racing since 1968, when his team first fielded a stock block -powered Eagle with Mark Donohue . The organization first competed at Indianapolis in 1969, where Donohue

3390-474: The 2007 Indianapolis 500 , carrying the No. 50 on his car in recognition of A. J.'s 50 years at the storied race . Unser qualified in the 25th starting position after being bumped from the lineup on the second day of qualifying. On 18 May 2007, Unser spoke publicly for the first time about his battle with alcoholism when he joined forces with LIVE outside the Bottle , a national educational campaign to help

3503-748: The 2023 24 Hours of Daytona . With the No. 6 Porsche retiring due to a gearbox issue and No. 7 finishing in 7th place. In May 2021 Porsche announced its return to FIA World Endurance Championship new category LMDh with Penske running their factory team. They announced their return to both WEC and IMSA for 2023 season running two new Porsche 963 in each competition. To prepare their return to WEC, Penske took part in WEC 2022 season with one Oreca 07 -Gibson in LMP2 class. Former Team Penske lubricant partner and supplier Mobil 1 rejoined as official team's lubricant partner and supplier from 2023 season onwards due to

Al Unser - Misplaced Pages Continue

3616-607: The Ford Mustang . Penske-entered Camaros won the series championship in 1968 and 1969. Later they switched to a red/white/blue American Motors backed 1970 AMC Javelin , and later the restyled 1971 AMC Javelin AMX which had an aerodynamic tail spoiler and other features suggested by Donohue. American Motors won the Over 2.5-liter title in 1971, after which Penske withdrew from the championship. Penske Racing also had an alliance with

3729-455: The Indianapolis 500 on his father's 55th birthday. Unser suffered from hereditary haemochromatosis , which contributed to him being diagnosed with liver cancer in 2004 and having a tumor and half of his liver removed in 2005. Unser continued to suffer from cancer for the next 17 years before dying from the disease aged 82 on December 9, 2021, in his home in Chama, New Mexico . Unser has led

3842-475: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series , driving full-time for the 2008 season with Team Penske American Le Mans Series confirming Porsche LMP2 driver Ryan Briscoe as Castroneves's new teammate for 2008 on November 13, 2007. Team Penske started the 2008 season poorly but Hélio Castroneves posted five top-four finishes (including two 2nd-place finishes) to start the year. Meanwhile, Ryan Briscoe

3955-772: The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb , an annual road race held in Colorado . Joe Unser became the first member of the Unser family to lose his life to the sport, killed while test-driving an FWD Coleman Special on the Denver highway in 1929. Al's oldest brother Jerry became the first Unser to drive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway . He qualifying 23rd and finishing 31st in the 1958 Indianapolis 500 . However, tragedy struck

4068-757: The Porsche partnership. 2023 line-up: Penske competed in the Formula One World Championship as a chassis constructor from 1974 to 1977 and as a works team from 1974 to 1976 . Although the cars were built at the British base in Poole , the works team held an American licence . Excluding the Indianapolis 500 , Penske is, along with the All American Racers , one of only two American constructors to have achieved

4181-539: The Unser Racing Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He began racing in 1957, at age 18, initially competing primarily in modified roadsters, sprint cars and midgets. In 1965 he raced in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time and finished ninth. His breakout year in IndyCar's was in 1970 when he joined Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing , where he would drive for the next seven years. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1970, two years after his brother, Bobby. During

4294-406: The 1994 race with Arizona Motorsports , hoping to qualify for what would be his 28th Indy 500. The team was very underfunded, and Unser had considerable trouble getting the car up to speed. On the first weekend of qualifying, he waved off after a poor qualifying lap. After some minimal practice the following day, he quit the team. He announced his retirement on May 17, 1994. His son Al Unser Jr. won

4407-457: The 2010 season in style by winning the first three races of the season. Will Power challenged for the driver's title until suspension failure in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway robbed him of a shot at the championship. Penske ended up finishing the 2010 season with nine wins, thirteen pole positions, and six fastest laps (mostly by Will Power ). On 12 November 2010, Penske confirmed that they would end their partnership with Honda at

4520-430: The 2011 season with six victories, all from Will Power , while Castroneves and Briscoe went winless. Roger Penske announced a switch to full-works General Motors -owned Chevrolet engines for the 2012 IndyCar Series season onwards and thus Team Penske earned a full-factory support from General Motors and Chevrolet and also Team Penske received free engines formally from Ilmor and Chevrolet as Roger Penske has

4633-582: The 2024 race, Team Penske won the Indy 500 for a record 20th time. The team has won the series championship 16 times. The open-wheel racing portion of Penske Racing had been based in Reading, Pennsylvania since 1973 with the cars, during the Formula One and CART era, being constructed in Poole , Dorset , England , which was also the base for the F1 team. On October 31, 2005, Penske Racing announced after

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4746-399: The 5-liter Ferrari 512 . To prepare for the 1972 season, the new works prototype Ferrari 312PB was presented and engaged by the factory in several races. Roger Penske bought a used 512 M chassis that was dismantled and rebuilt. The car was specially tuned for long races receiving many unique features, among them were a large rear wing and aviation-inspired quick refueling system. The engine

4859-559: The 917: The 917K short tail was modified, and the 917 LH aerodynamics received further improvements. New Magnesium chassis were developed. An entirely new car, the 917/20 was built as a test-bed for future CanAm parts and aerodynamic "low-drag" concepts. In Le Mans the "Sunoco" Ferrari was unable to break the 200 mph (320 km/h) barrier on the straight while the Porsche 917 LH were lightning-quick at speeds of over 240 mph (380 km/h). Mark Donohue qualified fourth anyway, which

4972-629: The American Le Mans Series, but did not run the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The Penske cars combined to win seven class victories and the overall win at Mid-Ohio . Penske Racing won the LMP2 team championship. Drivers Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr tied for first place in the driver's championship, while Timo Bernhard finished fifth, Romain Dumas finished sixth, and Emmanuel Collard finished tenth. 2006 team lineup: In 2007, Penske Motorsports fielded two LMP2 Porsche RS Spyder Evo in

5085-527: The American Le Mans Series. Penske Motorsports for the 2nd year in a row did not compete in 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Penske's two cars combined for eleven class victories and eight overall victories during the twelve race season. Penske won the LMP2 team championship, and team drivers Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard finished tied for first in the LMP2 driver's championship, while Sascha Maassen and Ryan Briscoe tied for third place. 2007 team lineup: Penske started their 2008 season with an overall win in

5198-561: The Buick engine had gone the entire 500 miles (800 km). Later in the year, Unser was selected to drive as a substitute for the injured Rick Mears at Nazareth . It was Unser's first start for Penske since 1989, and his final start in a CART series event. He finished 12th, earning 1 championship point. In 1993 , driving for King Racing , he led 15 laps at the Indianapolis 500 to extend his career laps-led record. He finished 12th, one lap down. A month shy of his 55th birthday, Unser entered

5311-736: The Cody Unser First Step Foundation at age 13 and she wrote about the cause on U.S. News & World Report . Shelley Unser died on August 15, 2018. On September 30, 2021, Unser Jr. married Norma Lawrence. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) ( key ) ( key ) ( Bold  – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics  – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ) ( key ) ( Bold  – Pole position. * – Most laps led. ) Team Penske Cup Series : 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race ( Phoenix ) Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing )

5424-573: The Indianapolis 500 19 times, won the Indianapolis 500 pole position 18 times, as well as 200 open wheel IndyCar wins in USAC, CART and IRL (as of May 19, 2018), 29 of which are in 500-Mile Races and 13 open-wheel championships. Team Penske has 1,463 starts in IndyCar races, 231 pole positions, 71 wins from pole, 47 double wins of which 8 are 1–2–3 finishes from the Pocono race on June 26, 1977, to January 1, 2015. In 2001, Team Penske marked its return to

5537-493: The Indianapolis 500 but their overall form would be greatly improved, with the team winning four of the first seven races of the season and nine races overall in the season. Scott McLaughlin would take his first IndyCar win at the season opener in St. Petersburg while Will Power and Josef Newgarden would hold the championship points lead at different points in the season. Will Power would ultimately clinch his second IndyCar championship at

5650-423: The Indy 500 after a five-year absence due to the open wheel split , after the 1995 PPG IndyCar World Series season with an Oldsmobile engines. Later, in 2001 Roger Penske announced he would leave CART for the 2002 IRL IndyCar Series season with Chevrolet engines. As Toyota confirmed defection from CART Champ Car to IRL IndyCar Series , the team switched to Toyota engines from 2003 season onwards as it

5763-639: The Japanese company's racing division in Japan and the United States including tune-up support from Ilmor Engineering in Plymouth, Michigan. The partnership started well in 2006, winning the 2006 Indianapolis 500 and 2006 IndyCar Series titles at the hands of Sam Hornish Jr. . Penske retained their Castroneves - Hornish Jr. pair for the 2007 season. The second year of the renewed Honda partnership

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5876-589: The McLaren domination of the Can-Am, Penske switched back to Lola Cars for his 1969 Can-Am efforts, but only entered the car in one race at Mid-Ohio . From 1972 to 1974, Penske was Porsche's official partner in the CanAm Series. In late 1971, Penske and Mark Donohue helped to develop the turbocharged version of the Porsche 917 . George Follmer won the series in 1972, and Donohue dominated CanAm in 1973 with

5989-501: The No. 12 and featured primary sponsorship of both the Verizon Wireless brand and Roger Penske's truck rental business. For the 2010 season, the team entered their fifth year of its Penske-Honda partnership with Will Power promoted to a full-time Penske seat alongside Castroneves and Briscoe. Team Penske became a three-car team for the first time since 1994, with the addition of a full-time team for Power. Team Penske started

6102-461: The Penskes to run significantly faster, giving them the pole and outside front row on the grid for the 78th Indianapolis 500 . Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi dominated the race, eventually lapping the field with 16 laps to go in the 200 lap race when Fittipaldi made contact with the wall coming out of Turn 4, giving Al Unser Jr. the lead and win. The only driver who finished on the lead lap

6215-753: The Pro Division (with a 30-second disadvantage assessed to professionals) for his ninth Long Beach victory overall, extending the "King of the Beach" nickname. Later that year, Unser raced again at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , participating in the Indy Legends Charity Pro/Am race, during the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association's Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational event. This two-driver race included an Indianapolis 500 veteran in each car. Unser won

6328-455: The Year that year. In 1995 Unser, along with teammate Emerson Fittipaldi, failed to qualify at Indianapolis , and he would later point to this as the trigger event for his descent into alcoholism and the breakup of his marriage. He would finish second to Jacques Villeneuve in CART championship points in 1995. He finished fourth in 1996 , despite having a chance of winning the championship until

6441-429: The arrival of three-time Supercars champion and former DJR Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin to the team, marking the first time Team Penske had signed a driver without any open-wheel experience to compete in their open-wheel racing program since Rick Mears signed to compete with the team in 1978. 2021 would be a difficult season for Team Penske. While McLaughlin was given time to adapt to IndyCar racing all three of

6554-780: The cars any longer following the instruction of Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement restricting cigarette advertising by name. In 2007, the IndyCar Series cars began to carry Team Penske insignia by removing Marlboro branding and sponsorship from Mobil 1 (although the cars remained painted in the Marlboro color scheme—in Formula 1 the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and McLaren has a similar set up due to Marlboro partnership). In 2010, Phillip Morris USA discontinued their relationship with Team Penske, ending

6667-399: The championship at Chicagoland Speedway, but Scott Dixon finished in 2nd place to ensure his 2008 IndyCar Series driver's title. For 2009, Verizon Wireless , joined ExxonMobil ( McLaren 's then fuel and lubricant partner) as associate sponsors, and the team was billed as Verizon Championship Racing. The third car was driven by Will Power (originally a substitute for Castroneves) and carried

6780-612: The championship in the final race on a tie-breaker to Scott Dixon . Team Penske would go on to dominate 2016, filling the top 3 positions in the final standings. Capping the season with a dominating race victory, Simon Pagenaud won his first IndyCar championship, becoming the ninth Penske driver to be crowned champion. Roger Penske's organization claimed its 14th such title and its second in three years (Power won in '14). In 2017 Team Penske signed Josef Newgarden from Ed Carpenter Racing and would secure back-to-back IndyCar championships with Newgarden winning his first in 2017. Newgarden won

6893-415: The championship. In 2020 Team Penske won again the drivers championship, this time with Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor . In the end of that season Penske left IMSA as the 3-year partnership with Acura reached its end. Penske would return to Endurance and IMSA in a partnership with Porsche for the new LMDh regulations. For the 2023 season, the team was the only one that fielded the Porsche 963 at

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7006-488: The championship. The team also dominated a controversial May at Indianapolis. Penske debuted a radical new Mercedes-Benz engine at Indy, the 500I. This engine used a provision in the rules intended for stock block pushrod engines such as the V-6 Buick engines that allowed an extra 650 cm and 10 inches (4.9 psi /33.8 kPa ) of boost. This extra power (at least 900 horsepower , and rumored to be over 1000) allowed

7119-530: The closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. During the off-season he drove in the 1993 Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports finishing 36th in his only NASCAR start. He ran well in the race , running with the lead pack all day, until a late race crash with Kyle Petty and Bobby Hillin Jr. During an interview with Mike Joy after the accident, Joy asked him if he would be back. Unser said that he wanted to come back, but it would never happen. Unser also tested

7232-550: The direction of the team, although Unser maintained a friendship with Jones. Despite starting the 1978 Indianapolis 500 from the fifth position in a First National City Travelers Checks Chaparral Lola , Unser's car was considered before the race to be a second-tier entry at best, if not an outright long shot to win. Moving to the front of the field for the first time on lap 75, he and opponent Danny Ongais engaged in an on-again off-again duel for 75 more laps, before an engine failure on Ongais' car on lap 150 allowed Unser to assume

7345-551: The end of the 2011 season and use engines supplied by Chevrolet for the 2012 season. For the 2011 season, the team entered their sixth and final year of its Penske-Honda partnership. Penske's trio of Castroneves-Briscoe-Power remained for the second consecutive year while the team lost the ExxonMobil sponsorship to Stewart-Haas Racing 's NASCAR team in favor of Shell and Pennzoil as their official motor oil partner. The team started well with two victories from Will Power in

7458-562: The end of the season. Unser ranked 13th in 1997 , 11th in 1998 and 21st in 1999 , not helped by the fact that he had to sit out two races after breaking his leg in the season-opener at Miami in a first-lap accident. Little Al's decline in performance coincided with the Penske team's struggles with their in-house chassis, Mercedes engines and Goodyear tires, which were being abandoned by most teams during this era in favor of Firestones . His teammates suffered similarly disappointing results during this time. Team Penske began abandoning

7571-559: The first five races. Power captured his first oval win at Texas Motor Speedway and came into the season finale at Las Vegas 18 points behind leader Dario Franchitti. However, on lap 11 of the race, Power was collected in a fiery 15-car crash that killed defending Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon . The race was cut short in Wheldon's honor and the championship points stood as they had to enter Las Vegas, giving Franchitti his third consecutive driver's title (and fourth overall). Penske finished

7684-427: The first time in sixteen seasons. In 2024 , Team Penske incurred controversy when Josef Newgarden was disqualified from his season opening win at St. Petersburg for having illegally manipulated ECU software to allow for push to pass to be used on the race restarts, marking the first time the team had been stripped of an IndyCar win since Al Unser Jr.'s 1995 win at Portland. Unlike that race, Penske elected not to appeal

7797-410: The lead with nine laps to go. Sneva then easily pulled away to win the race by 11 seconds, avenging his firing from the team in 1978. After the race, Unser Jr. was penalized two laps for his actions as well as having passed two cars under caution on lap 170. Unser won the IndyCar championships in 1983 and 1985 by winning one race and then having several top-five finishes. In 1986, Penske decided to focus

7910-418: The loss of the win and Tim Cindric was banned from the Penske paddock for several races. The team however did have a strong start to the season, with all three of their drivers picking up wins in the first seven races and Newgarden becoming the first driver since Helio Castroneves to win back to back Indianapolis 500s, giving Penske their 20th Indianapolis 500 win. Penske's 1994 IndyCar World Series Championship

8023-477: The maligned in-house Penske chassis for customer Lola chassis during the 1999 season. By the end of 1999, Unser and Penske parted ways and, combined with the death of Gonzalo Rodríguez , Penske replaced Unser and Rodriguez with Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran . Unser would leave CART to join the budding Indy Racing League for the 2000 campaign . Unser won a total of 31 races during his 17 seasons in CART. His career win total including IRL stands at 34, which

8136-399: The next year when he was killed by injuries sustained in a fiery crash during a practice session. Middle brother Bobby drove in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1963. In 1968, he became the first family member to win. He went on to win the race a total of three times. Son Al Unser Jr. drove in his first Indy 500 in 1983, winning twice. His mother Mary "Mom" Unser became a popular a fixture at

8249-470: The pioneer Trans-Am team, Jocko's Racing which won the 1976 Trans-Am Series championship in a Penske-leased car. Penske Racing entered a Lola T70 in the 1966 Can-Am Series for Mark Donohue , resulting in one win at Mosport . In 1967, Penske Racing entered two Lolas, one for Mark Donohue and one for George Follmer . 1968 saw Penske switch to a McLaren M6, which had won the series in 1967. Donohue won one race that year in Can-Am at Bridgehampton . With

8362-514: The pole. Unser also started five races in NASCAR, three in the late 1960s and two in 1986. His best finishes were a pair of 4th-place results, one at the 1968 Daytona 500 and the other at the 1969 Motor Trend 500 at Riverside International Raceway . He fared less well in two 1986 starts, finishing 29th at Watkins Glen and 20th at Riverside. In 1987, Penske's slate of drivers included Rick Mears , Danny Sullivan , and Danny Ongais . Al Unser Sr.

8475-588: The prototype (P) class. To prepare their debut in 2018 season, Team Penske took part in the last race of 2017, the Petit Le Mans using the Oreca 07 LMP2 (same framework that the Acura DPi was based on), placing third. 2018 line-up: 2019–2020 line-up: In 2019 Team Penske won the drivers championship with Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron , while Hélio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor finished 3rd on

8588-579: The public understand the need to address and treat alcoholism. During the race weekend of the 2009 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach , Unser confirmed that his IndyCar career was in fact over. During the weekend, he returned to the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race that he won in 1985, and scored his second win in the event and his eighth Long Beach victory overall. In 2010, Unser started the Race Clinic for Paralysis charity. Unser

8701-411: The race ended, Unser Jr. was issued a 2-lap penalty by chief steward Thomas W. Binford for passing 2 cars under caution with less than 40 laps to go as well as blocking eventual winner Tom Sneva from passing his father with less than 20 laps to go. The penalty dropped him from an original finish of 9th to 10th. Despite being lauded for his performance as a rookie, Unser Jr. narrowly lost the rookie of

8814-528: The race, along with Peter Klutt, driving Klutt's 1969 Chevrolet Corvette . In so doing, Unser became the second driver to win on both the oval and road course at the Speedway. In 2015, Unser participated in several Goodguys AutoCross competitions while racing Speedway Motors' 1970 Camaro. He also raced in the Sports Car Club of America Solo National Championship, placing second in his class, and

8927-507: The race, he led for all but ten of the 200 laps and averaged 155.749 miles per hour (250.654 km/h). His quick pit stops were a factor in the victory, as well as the fact that VPJ had an insurmountable advantage over the field that year. That season, he won a record ten times on oval, road and dirt tracks to capture the United States Auto Club national championship. Unser competed in USAC's Stock Car division in 1967, and

9040-485: The season but managed to find victory lane at Sonoma. However, Power would come up short in the championship after a crash at the season finale. Briscoe left the team after 2012 for other opportunities. In 2014, Will Power took the IndyCar Championship for Team Penske after 3 concurrent runner up finishes in 2010–2012. The 2015 season started well for Team Penske, Juan Pablo Montoya won the first race of

9153-431: The season finale. For 2023 , Team Penske would return to the winner's circle at Indianapolis, with Josef Newgarden clinching the 107th Indianapolis 500 , becoming the first American driver to win the race since 2016. 2023 was otherwise a difficult season for the team; only one of their drivers finishing in the top three of the IndyCar points standings, only winning one road course event, and Will Power recorded no wins for

9266-533: The season, his second win for Penske since he arrived from NASCAR in 2014, with teammates Will Power, Helio Castroneves, and Simon Pagenaud (first season with the team) finishing 2nd, 4th, and 5th. Power got a win at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in the 5th race of the season and just 2 weeks later, the Colombian Montoya won the Indy 500 leading again teammate Will Power. Juan Pablo Montoya would lose

9379-544: The second most laps of any driver in the history of the Indianapolis 500, at 644. Unser tied Ralph DePalma 's long standing record of 612 laps led on the last lap of his 4th victory. Unser holds the record of being the oldest driver to ever win the 500 at 47 years old (1987), breaking the previous record set by his brother Bobby. Unser won two 500-mile races at Pocono (in 1976 and 1978 ) and two more at Ontario (in 1977 and 1978 ) bringing his total of 500-mile race wins (including four Indianapolis 500s) to eight. Unser

9492-411: The second week of practice, Roger Penske consummated a deal with Al Sr. to drive the third car. Penske promised Unser a well-funded effort, and a brand new Cosworth engine, the same chassis/engine combination that had won the previous four Indy 500s. The year-old March was removed from a Penske Racing display at a Sheraton hotel in the team's hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania , and hurriedly prepared for

9605-465: The second year in a row without a ride. During the first week of practice, Nelson Piquet was involved in a serious crash, and was unable to drive. Unser was hired by Team Menard to fill the position vacated by Piquet. Unser drove to a 3rd-place finish, while his son Al Unser Jr. won the race. It was Team Menard's best Indy 500 finish, the best finish for the Buick Indy engine, and the first time

9718-471: The team for the Michigan 500 . A broken right-front push-rod after only six practice laps led to a severe crash. The 51 year-old Unser suffered a broken right femur, right collarbone, and three upper right ribs. He quit the team after the crash. He spent most of the month of May 1991 shopping around for a competitive ride. The restrictions on the number of leases to the Chevy Ilmor engine kept him out of

9831-522: The team qualify Simona De Silvestro at the last spot on the starting lineup, though De Silvestro and the Penske prepped car would fail to finish the race. Scott McLaughlin would be named both IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 Rookie Of The Year while Josef Newgarden was able to finish in second place in the championship for a second consecutive season. For 2022 Simon Pagenaud departed the team for Meyer Shank Racing , bringing Team Penske back down to three full-time IndyCar entries. The team would struggle again at

9944-404: The team up until 1977. During a few of those years, VPJ lost their competitive edge after changing their chassis, as well as their failed F1 bid. By 1977, the team regained competitive form, although Unser would announce his departure for Jim Hall Racing at year's end. Unser would later say, in a 2020 interview, that his departure from VPJ stemmed from disagreements with Jones and his partners over

10057-462: The team would shut down its Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series operations and be turned into the new No. 12 Verizon sponsored IndyCar for Will Power to run full-time in 2010. In 2017, it was announced that Team Penske would make a comeback to sportscar racing in IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in a 3-year partnership with Acura , starting in the 2018 season, running 2 Acura ARX-05 DPis in

10170-466: The team's attention on teammate Rick Mears when he healed from serious injuries. As a result, Unser cut down his schedule to only a few IndyCar races a year, which he would do going forward. Outside of his open-wheel career, Unser was a semi-regular competitor in IROC , winning three races and the 1977-1978 championship . His final IROC start was an 11th-place finish at the 1993 Michigan race after winning

10283-454: The team's former champions would see their worst years with Team Penske. Both Will Power and Josef Newgarden recorded the lowest win totals of their Team Penske tenures in 2021 and had easy victories at Detroit and Road America taken away from them in the closing laps due to mechanical failures, while Simon Pagenaud was only able to record two third-place finishes as his best result of the year. The team also recorded their worst Indianapolis 500

10396-603: The then-1972 record), and would not itself be topped for second for four more years. In 1979, Unser departed Jim Hall's team for the Longhorn Racing Team owned by Bobby Hillin Sr.. Although Unser went winless for three seasons, he would later say that driving for the Hillin family was his most joyful experience as a driver before his successful Penske years. The team folded operations after three years, putting Unser out of

10509-439: The track. Each year she treated the participants to a chili cookout in the garage area. She died on December 18, 1975. Al Unser married Wanda Jesperson in 1958 and they had three children- Alfred Jr. , Mary, and Deborah. Deborah was killed in a dune buggy accident in 1982. Al and Wanda divorced in 1971. Al married Karen Sue Barnes on November 22, 1977. Karen and Al divorced in 1988. Al Unser, with his family, owned and operated

10622-420: The ultimate evolution of the 917, the 917/30. The rules were changed for 1974, and Penske raced only once this year. A Lola T70 Mk IIIb entered by Penske was the surprise winner of the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona . During the 1970 season, the competition between the 5-liter sportscars of Porsche and Ferrari turned to the advantage of the Porsche 917 . In 1971, Ferrari decided to give up any official effort with

10735-438: The upper half until a crash ended his day. In late August, Unser took part in an A1 Grand Prix test session at Silverstone . On 25 January 2007, Unser was arrested and charged with driving under the influence , misdemeanor hit and run, failure to render aid in an accident and failure to report an accident near Henderson, Nevada . On 2 May 2007, it was announced that Unser would drive a car for racing legend A. J. Foyt in

10848-468: The year award to Teo Fabi . Unser continued racing on the CART circuit , becoming one of the series' rising stars. He finished second in the CART championship point standings in 1985 , losing to his father by just one point. He began competing in the IROC championship in 1986, winning that championship with two victories in four races. At the age of 24, Unser was the youngest IROC champion ever. Unser won

10961-543: Was already in the World of Outlaws series of sprint car racing. He soon moved into road racing, winning the Super Vee title in 1981 and the Can-Am title in 1982. In 1982 , Unser made his debut on the CART circuit. He suffered personal tragedy when his sister Debbie was killed in a dune buggy accident, but this did not deter Unser; and a year later , he competed in his first Indianapolis 500 , finishing 9th. Hours after

11074-488: Was announced on April 2, 2002. The team's partnership with Toyota engines started well in 2003 including winning the 2003 Indianapolis 500 in the hands of Gil de Ferran . However, Team Penske's Toyota partnership started to decline in 2004 by scoring only two wins, five pole positions, and three fastest laps compared to 2003 due to driver errors and also incidents. The team also resurged slightly in 2005 with just only three wins and two pole positions. On October 31, 2005, it

11187-498: Was announced that Team Penske ended their engine deal with Toyota and switched to Honda with an initial five-year deal. Penske had collaborated with Honda engines in the 2000–2001 CART Champ Car season. After a prolonged period, the team announced Hélio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. as their official race drivers. Despite the Honda partnership, Penske had a de facto direct Honda factory support, with engines coming straight from

11300-426: Was dropped from the team, and entered the month of May without a ride. During the first week of practice, Al Sr. spent much of the week shopping for a ride, and a few offers were made by owners. Al Sr., however, refused the offers, as he insisted on landing a ride in a competitive, well-funded car only. Unser planned on staying through the week, and if he did not have a ride by the end of the first week of time trials, he

11413-681: Was forced to adapt the Penske IndyCar car, as Briscoe was entering his first season with Team Penske after spending two years as an IndyCar part-timer whilst he raced in the Champ Car World Series in 2006 and later the American Le Mans Series in 2007. Ryan Briscoe finally scored his first win at the Milwaukee Mile while Castroneves claimed his first 2008 win in Infineon Raceway . Castroneves nearly won

11526-440: Was much more promising than the first with the team coming close to defending their Indianapolis 500 victory, as well as their IndyCar Series driver and team titles. However, the team slumped, scoring only two victories due to driver errors and incidents. The team failed to win major IndyCar silverware for the first time since the 2005 season. On November 9, 2007, Sam Hornish Jr. announced he would depart from IndyCar Series to

11639-490: Was named rookie of the year. In 1971, Donohue scored the first win for Team Penske in IndyCar at the Pocono 500 . Donohue won the team's first Indianapolis 500 in May 1972 . In 1978, Penske along with Pat Patrick , Dan Gurney , and several other team owners who had been participating in USAC events involving cars known as Champ Cars and IndyCars formed Championship Auto Racing Teams ( CART ). As of May 28, 2023, Team Penske has won

11752-475: Was on the verge of winning his first Indianapolis 500, but while battling with Emerson Fittipaldi for the lead the two touched wheels and Unser spun, hitting the wall and ending his chances. This race is remembered for a remarkable show of sportsmanship, as Little Al climbed out of his wrecked racecar and gave Fittipaldi the "thumbs up" as he drove by Unser under caution. Unser would have his day at Indy in 1992 , however, defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds,

11865-507: Was one of, if not the most dominating performance from a race team in the history of American open-wheel racing. Roger Penske had found the key to win but also found a way to run from the competition. The new Penske PC-23 chassis with the Ilmor - Indy V8 engine would power the Penske drivers of Al Unser Jr. , Paul Tracy , and Emerson Fittipaldi . The team racked up 12 wins out of 16 races, collecting 10 poles and 28 podium finishes on their way to

11978-533: Was placed on indefinite suspension from his role with IndyCar. In 2013, Unser entered a sportscar race at Thunderhill Raceway Park , the legendary 25 Hours of Thunderhill, racing with his son Al III as teammates. Unser dominated the race, but co-driver Ivan Bellarosa crashed the car out. In 2014, once again at Long Beach, he participated in the Pro/Celebrity race, finishing fifth, 6.115 seconds behind winner Brett Davern and four other celebrities, winning

12091-406: Was planning to return home. Coincidentally, his son Al Unser Jr. (driving for Shierson Racing ) was having difficulty with his car's handling. At the end of the first weekend of time trials, Al Jr. surprisingly had not yet qualified. Al Sr. agreed to stay through the week in order to help his son get his car up to speed. Danny Ongais crashed into the wall during the first week of practice, suffering

12204-681: Was rookie Jacques Villeneuve . This one season gave Penske the Driver's Championship with Al Unser Jr. , Constructor's Cup with the Penske PC-23, and Manufacturer's Cup with the Ilmor-Indy V8 engine. (In the 1995 Indy 500 Penske failed to qualify any cars for the race) Cigarette brand Marlboro had been a sponsor with Team Penske since the 1989 Indianapolis 500 , and primary sponsor of all Team Penske IndyCars since 1991. Late in 2005, Team Penske announced that Marlboro would not appear on

12317-1477: Was the 1978 IROC champion. He also competed in the 1968 Daytona 500 and four other NASCAR Winston Cup & Grand National races, all held on road courses with a best finish of fourth (twice). ( key ) ( Races in bold indicate pole position ) ( key ) ( key ) ( Bold  – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics  – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ) ( key ) ( Bold  – Pole position. * – Most laps led. ) 1979   R. Mears 1980   J. Rutherford 1981   R. Mears 1982   R. Mears 1983   A. Unser 1984   Ma. Andretti 1985   A. Unser 1986   B. Rahal 1987   B. Rahal 1988   D. Sullivan 1989   E. Fittipaldi 1990   A. Unser Jr. 1991   Mi. Andretti 1992   B. Rahal 1993   N. Mansell 1994   A. Unser Jr. 1995   J. Villeneuve 1996   J. Vasser 1997   A. Zanardi 1998   A. Zanardi 1999   J. Montoya 2000   G. de Ferran 2001   G. de Ferran 2002   C. da Matta 2003   P. Tracy 2004   S. Bourdais 2005   S. Bourdais 2006   S. Bourdais 2007   S. Bourdais Al Unser Jr. Alfred Unser Jr. (born April 19, 1962) – nicknamed " Little Al " to distinguish him from his father, Al Unser –

12430-434: Was the result of an aerodynamic configuration that favored downforce over drag, which helped in the twistier sections. The car did not have much luck in the race though. In April 2005, it was announced that Porsche would build an Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) sanctioned LMP2 Class Prototype that would be entered by Penske Racing in the American Le Mans Series and thus formally competed as DHL Porsche Penske Racing in

12543-460: Was the series Rookie of the Year. In 1971, with Vel's Parnelli Jones, he won the Indianapolis 500 again, starting from the fifth position with an average speed of 157.735 miles per hour (253.850 km/h), and holding off Peter Revson 's McLaren for the victory. Unser's bid to become the first three-time consecutive Indy 500 champion was thwarted when he finished second to Mark Donohue in the 1972 Indianapolis 500 . Unser would continue driving for

12656-514: Was tuned by CanAm V8 specialist Traco, and was probably able to deliver more than 600 hp (450 kW). As of today, it is unknown to what extent Penske's initiative was backed by Ferrari works. This 512M was painted in a blue and yellow livery and was sponsored by Sunoco and the Californian Ferrari dealer Kirk F. White. The car made the pole position for the 1971 24 Hours of Daytona and finished second despite an accident. For

12769-430: Was working his way through the lower ranks of open-wheel racing at the time. In 2006 Unser announced that he would come back to racing again and he would run the 2006 Indianapolis 500 , teamed with fellow former winner Buddy Lazier for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing . This came just days after Michael Andretti also came out of retirement to run the 500. Unser qualified 27th in the 33-car field, and consistently ran in

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