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Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Sr. died Thursday after a lengthy cancer battle. He was 82.
Unser is one of the most accomplished open-wheel racers in American history and one of just four drivers to win the Indy 500 four times.
“Al achieved his successes competing against many of the best our sport has ever seen, which makes his accomplishments on the track even more impressive,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles said in a statement. “Al’s combination of his quiet and humble approach outside the car with his fierce, competitive spirit and fearless talent behind the wheel, made him a fan favorite.”
Unser won the Indy 500 in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987. He’s joined in the four-win club by A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Helio Castroneves. Castroneves became a four-time 500 winner in 2021 after he won the race in 2001, 2002 and 2009.
Unser won his fourth and final Indy 500 after starting 20th in 1987. He and Roberto Guerrero were the only two drivers who finished on the lead lap and every other driver was at least two laps down. Unser took the lead for the only time on lap 183 of 200 from Guerrero.
That 1987 Indy 500 win was the final victory of his career. He won 39 IndyCar and CART races from 1965-1987 and won championships in 1970, 1983 and 1985.
That 1970 season was part of an incredible four-year run for Unser. He won 25 races from 1968-71 and at least five races in each of those four seasons. Unser had 10 wins and 16 top fives in 18 races in 1970, the season when he won his first IndyCar title and his first Indy 500.
Unser also competed in five NASCAR Cup Series races in his career. He finished fourth in the 1968 Daytona 500.
The Unser family is one of the most famous in American motorsports history Unser is the father of two-time Indy 500 Al Unser Jr. “Little Al” won the Indy 500 in 1992 and 1994 and won the IndyCar title in 1990 and 1994.
Bobby Unser, Al Unser Sr.’s brother, was the first member of the family to win the Indy 500 when he went to victory lane in 1968. A three-time Indy 500 winner, Bobby died in May at 87. Jerry Unser was the first Unser to race at Indianapolis when he competed in the 1958 Indy 500. He died in 1959 at Indianapolis when he was killed in a practice session.