Bobby Unser

Bobby Unser
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Born	20 1934 (age 91) {{{birth_place}}}
Died	{{{death_date}}} {{{death_place}}}
Formula One career
Nationality	American
Years	1968

File:IndyCar B.Unser 1979 EMS.jpg

Bobby Unser's 1979 Penske Cosworth Champ Car

Robert William "Bobby" Unser (born February 20, 1934 in Colorado Springs, Colorado) is a retired U.S. automobile racer. He is the brother of Al Unser, Jerry Unser and Louie Unser, the father of Robby Unser, and the uncle of Al Unser, Jr. and Johnny Unser. He is one of nine drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 three times, and one of only two to have won the 500 in three different decades (1968, 75, 81). Bobby has also been a spokesman and advocate of many commercial products.

1981 Indianapolis 500[]

Bobby was part of one of the most controversial finishes in Indy 500 history at the 1981 Indianapolis 500. 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. Unser was awarded the win in October 1981, but the controversy and financial impact (Unser once estimated that the commercial endorsements he lost because of the delayed result cost him $1 million) caused him to retire from racing at the end of the year.

Other achievements[]

Was the first driver to average more than 190 MPH at the Indianapolis 500.

Was the 1975 IROC champion.

Won the USAC Indy car championships in 1968 and 1974. He was also entered in the 1968 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International, driving for the BRM team. He withdrew after a massive accident in practice.

Challenged Dan Gurney to improve the performance of his 1971 USAC car, leading to the development of the Gurney flap.

Drove in three NASCAR Grand National races from 1969 to 1973 with a best finish of fourth.

Won the 1993 Fastmasters championship.

Is the undisputed king of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with 13 wins.

Broadcaster[]

He was a color commentator for Indycar races after his retirement.

Awards[]

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.
He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1997.
Unser was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994.

Federal criminal charges[]

In 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, and Mr Unser had vomited blood during this time.^[1]

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 it, 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.^[2]^[3] Mr Unser appealed this decision all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but his writ of certiorari was denied.^[4]

Racing record[]

American Open-Wheel racing results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC[]

Template:Expand list

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Rank	Points
1975	All American Racers	ONT1	ONT2 10	ONT3 2	PHX	TRE	INDY 1	MIL 2	POC 22	MIS 5	MIL2									3rd	2480
1975	Jerry O'Connell Racing											MIS2 3	TRE2	PHX2						3rd	2480
1976	Fletcher Racing	PHX 1	TRE DNQ	INDY 10	MIL 3	POC 32	MIS	TWS	TRE2	MIL2 4	ONT 1	MIS2 4	TWS2 17	PHX2 21						6th	2080
1977	Fletcher Racing	ONT 15	PHX 17	TWS	TRE WD	INDY 18	MIL 16	POC 19	MOS	MIS 21	TWS2 15	MIL2 17	ONT2 30	MIS2	PHX2 8					35th	75
1978	All American Racers	PHX 18	ONT 16	TWS 13	TRE 20	INDY 6	MOS 19	MIL 17	POC 20	MIS 5	ATL 3	TWS2 8	MIL2 20	ONT2 13	MIS2	TRE2	SIL 8	BRH 13	PHX2 11	12th	1122

CART[]

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
1979	Team Penske	PHX 5	ATL1 7	ATL2 4	INDY 5	TRE1 1	TRE2 1	MIS1 Ret	MIS2 1	WGL 1	TRE3 2	ONT 1	MIS3 1	ATL3 3	PHX2 2	2nd	3820
1980	Team Penske	ONT1 Ret	INDY Ret	MIL1 1	POC 1	MDO Ret	MIS1 2	WGL 1	MIL2 3	ONT2 1	MIS2 2	MEX 2	PHX DNS			2nd	3714
1981	Team Penske	PHX1 2	MIL1 Ret	ATL1 13	ATL2 6	MIS1 Ret	RIV 9	MIL2 3	MIS2 7	WGL Ret	MEX Ret	PHX2 2				7th	99

Indy 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 P138	BRM V12	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA DNS	CAN	USA Ret	MEX	NC	0

References[]

↑ [[:Template:Delink]] on YouTube
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External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: [[Commons:Category: Category:Bobby Unser

Bobby Unser

]]

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

Template:USAC Drivers' Champions

Template:IROC Champions

This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Bobby Unser. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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