Unser was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the third of four brothers. When he was one, his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his father started a garage on U.S. Route 66. He served in the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1955 and became a top competition sharpshooter. He is the nephew of Louis Unser, brother of Al, Jerry, and Louie Unser, father of Robby Unser, and uncle of Al Unser Jr. and Johnny Unser.
Unser began racing in 1949 in a Modified at Roswell Speedway. In 1950, at age 15, he won the Southwest Modified Stock Cars championship. In 1955, he and brothers Al and Jerry committed to USAC racing careers. That same year, Unser debuted at Pikes Peak, finishing fifth behind two of his brothers. He won six consecutive Pikes Peak titles from 1958 to 1963; his streak ended in 1964 when his brother Al won. In 1959, his brother Jerry died in a practice crash for the Indianapolis 500. Unser was an early adopter of the five-point harness in racing, having taken the concept from aviation.
Unser made his IndyCar debut in 1962. He raced for Andy Granatelli between 1963 and 1965 with a Novi engine, entering his first Indianapolis 500 in 1963 and finishing 33rd after an early crash. His 1964 Indianapolis 500 ended on lap two in the accident that killed Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald. He moved to an IndyCar owned by Bob Willke from 1966 to 1970, recording his first IndyCar win in 1967 at Mosport, Ontario.
In 1968, working with crew chief Jud Phillips, Unser won the Indianapolis 500 — setting the record as the first driver to exceed 170 mph at Indianapolis — and claimed the USAC National Driving Championship with wins at Stardust International Raceway, Phoenix Raceway, Trenton Speedway, Indianapolis, and Pikes Peak.
In 1972, Unser joined Dan Gurney's All American Racers, using a John Miller Offenhauser engine. He set an Indianapolis 500 qualifying record of 195.940 mph — the first season teams were permitted to run aerodynamic wings — and won nine poles in ten races. He won the 1974 USAC National Driving Championship, finishing in the top five in 12 of 13 races. In 1975, he won his second Indianapolis 500 in a race shortened to 174 laps due to rain.
Unser raced for the Fletcher Racing Team in 1976, then remained with Gurney's team until 1979. From 1979 to 1981 he raced in the CART series for Team Penske, partnering Rick Mears. In 1980 he became the first driver to win the California 500 four times and finished second in the season championship to Johnny Rutherford.
Unser won the pole for the 1981 Indianapolis 500 in the No. 3 Roger Penske car and led 89 laps. On lap 149, during a caution period, Unser passed eight cars while returning to the pits; Andretti passed two. Unser won by 5.18 seconds but was stripped of the result the following morning, with second-place finisher Mario Andretti awarded the victory. Following a five-month protest and lawsuit by Roger Penske, the win was restored to Unser in October 1981; he was fined $40,000 instead. In his autobiography Winners Are Driven, Unser maintained the disqualification was politically motivated, aimed at creating a rift between Pat Patrick and Penske to damage CART. The incident caused a long estrangement between Unser and Andretti that lasted until 2017, when Andretti reached out while Unser was ill.
Unser leads the all-time Pikes Peak overall champion list with ten titles. After a 12-year absence, he returned in 1986 driving an Audi Quattro, eclipsing the record set by Michele Mouton by 16 seconds. The 1986 win was his tenth overall and broke a tie with his uncle Louis Unser, who had nine. His 13 total Pikes Peak wins include two stock car class victories (1969 and 1974) and one sports car class win (1963).
Unser won the 1975 International Race of Champions title and the 1993 Fast Masters championship. In 1971 he challenged Dan Gurney to improve the performance of his USAC car, which led to the development of the Gurney flap. In 1993 he set a Bonneville Salt Flats record of 223.709 mph in a D/Gas Modified Roadster, a mark that stood for 18 years. He also participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. He competed in NASCAR events and broadcast several NASCAR races between 1986 and 1992.
After retiring, Unser worked as a television broadcaster for around 20 years, commentating on IndyCar races for NBC, ABC, and ESPN. He called his brother Al's record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 1987, Al's 1985 CART championship, and his nephew Al Unser Jr.'s first Indianapolis 500 victory in 1992 and second in 1994. In 1989, ABC's Indianapolis 500 telecast received a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Special; Unser shared announcer honours with Paul Page and Sam Posey.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame (1990)
International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1990)
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1994)
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (1997)
Pikes Peak Hill Climb Museum Hall of Fame (1997)
Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (2011)
International Snowmobile Hall of Fame (2018)
Indy 500 Front Row Award (1999) — nine-time front-row qualifier
Selected fourth in The Greatest 33 list of Indianapolis 500 drivers (2011)
Unser died of natural causes on May 2, 2021, at his home in Albuquerque, aged 87. Paul Page spoke at his funeral service; Mario Andretti and Roger Penske spoke via videotape. Pallbearers from outside the family included Willy T. Ribbs, Johnny Rutherford, and Rick Galles. He was interred at Sunset Memorial Park. His son Bobby Unser Jr. died less than two months later due to complications from hip surgery.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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