Race Your Way to Better Health!

This weekend was the Indianapolis 500, the most famous race in the world. Joining us is two-time winner of the Indy 500 Al Unser Jr. who is trying to make a comeback! Unser is racing again after a DUI sidetracked his career. Al Unser Jr. will tote six Indianapolis 500 driving victories and a lot more history when the No. 50 ABC Supply Co. entry makes its qualifications attempt for the 91st Indianapolis 500. Unser, a two-time winner of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is joining forces with A. J. Foyt Racing and its full-time IndyCar Series driver, Darren Manning, for the Month of May. Their Honda-powered Dallaras will take the track for the first time May 8. The run for the AAMCO Transmissions Pole Award is May 12. The No. 50 car is in recognition of Foyts 50th anniversary in Indy car racing. The 91st Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 27, will be Foyts 50th in a row as a participant. He won in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977 as a driver and in 1999 as a team owner. Unser will be the 50th driver and second Unserto run for Foyt since he began owning race cars in 1965. Al Unser made his 500-Mile Race debut in a Foyt car in 65, qualifying 32nd on Bump Day and finishing ninth. The last of his four victories came in 1987, tying Foyts record. Its a real honor to be driving for A. J., especially during his 50th anniversary season and especially at Indy, said Al Unser Jr., who turned 45 on April 19. A. J. has so much history at the Speedway, and the Unsers are a part of that history. A.J. played a big role in getting my dad started at Indy in 65, so when A. J. called me to drive for him, I felt honored and very proud. Unser will seek to make his 19th Indy 500 start. Unser has recorded seven top-five finishes since his rookie year in 1983, including victories in 1992 with Galles Racing and 1994 with Team Penske. His first victory came by just. 0043 of a second over Scott Goodyear in the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. He also became part of Indy lore when he finished second in 1989. Unser and eventual winner Emerson Fittipaldi banged wheels while dueling for the lead with less than two laps remaining, sending Unser into the outside wall in Turn 3. Al Jr. is a really talented driver whose experience will bring a lot of good things to our team this month, said Foyt, who won as a team owner in 1999 with Kenny Brack. Im looking forward to working with him at Indy. Weve stepped up our IndyCar Series program overall this year in a lot of ways. Hiring a veteran like Al Jr., who has won at the Speedway and knows it so well, will help our regular driver, Darren, because its been a couple years since hes run there. I think this is our best chance at Indy since we won it in 99. Unser is the third driver named to an Indianapolis 500 seat this week. Playa Del Racing announced veteran Jaques Lazier and rookie Phil Giebler as its drivers May 1. More about Al Unser, Jr.: Alfred Unser, Jr. (born April 19, 1962 in Albuquerque, New Mexico), nicknamed “Little Al” or “Al Junior” is an American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Al Unser, Jr., the son of Al Unser and the nephew of Bobby Unser, both race car drivers in their own right, grew up surrounded by racing. By the age of 11, Al Unser, Jr. was racing sprint cars. After high school, he 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, finishing fifth at the California 500. A year later, he competed in his first Indianapolis 500, finishing tenth. 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 (as of 2004). Unser won the 1988 and 1986 IROC championships. Unser won the 24 Hours of Daytona also at age 24. 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 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 out, hitting the wall and ending his chances. Unser would have his day at Indy in 1992, however, defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 of a second, the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history (as of 2005). In 1994, Unser again won at Indy, this time with Penske Racing. His teammate was Emerson Fittipaldi, the man whom he battled with five years before. Unser turned in a dominant season-long performance, winning eight of 16 races on his way to his second CART championship. He would finish second to Jacques Villeneuve in CART championship points in 1995, but after finishing fourth in 1996, 13th in 1997, 11th in 1998 and 21st in 1999, Unser would eventually leave CART to join the budding Indy Racing League for the 2000 campaign. He won his first IRL race that same season at Las Vegas. 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 of 2003, Unser had difficulty securing 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, Al Unser, Jr. finally announced his retirement from racing on June 30, 2004. Unser continued to remain involved in racing, however, outside of a racing capacity. He served as an adviser for Patrick Racing and worked as a mentor for his son, Alfred Unser, who is currently working his way through the lower ranks in open-wheel racing. In 2006 Unser announced that he would come back to racing again and he would run the 2006 Indianapolis 500. 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 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, USA. On 2 May 2007, it was announced that Unser would drive a car for racing legend AJ Foyt in the 2007 Indy 500, carrying the No. 50 on his car in recognition of A.J. Foyt’s 50 years at the storied race. https://videos.whiteblox.com/gnb/secure/player.aspx?sid=32369