“Little Al’s” Indy ‘500’ rookie ride

Al Unser Junior, born April 16, 1962, was known as “Little Al” when he arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1983 to differentiate him from his father at the time a three-time “500 winner. 

After he started racing in sprint cars, Al Junior had worked his way up the road racing ladder, as he won the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) Super Vee series in 1981 in a Ralt RT5, then the SCCA single-seat Canadian-America Challenge (Can-Am) revival series in 1982 in a Lola Frissbee-Chevrolet owned by New Mexico car dealer Rick Galles.

Al Junior made his CART (Championship Auto Racing teams) IndyCar debut in the 1982 ‘Air Cal 500’ at Riverside Raceway in a March 82C owned by Gerry Forsythe and finished fifth in a race marked with high level of mechanical carnage, as only four of the race’s 28 starters finished. The following year, Unser Junior was slated for a full 13-race slate for the 1983 CART season.

The 1983 Indianapolis 500-mile race appeared on the CART schedule although the race was still sanctioned by the United States Auto Club. Junior in the Coors Light Silver Bullet/Roman Wheels Special, an All-American Racers Eagle chassis powered by a 167-cubic inch turbocharged Cosworth DFX V-8 engine that developed approximately 750 horsepower.  

Al Junior easily passed his required rookie test and qualified on the first day of time trials with the fifth fastest average speed of 202.146 miles per hour for his ten-mile run.

In the late stages of the Memorial Day race, Unser Junior ran in tenth place as he father led, with Tom Sneva in second place and in pursuit of the lead. Unser Senior passed his son, and Junior blocked Tom Sneva for over a dozen laps. With 10 laps to go, Sneva finally passed Junior in lapped traffic and then quickly cleared Unser Senior for the lead and the eventual victory over Unser Senior. Unser Junior's Eagle ran out of fuel and he was scored in tenth place.

“Little Al” was roundly criticized for his late race blocking of Sneva, but it was his earlier action of passing two cars before the green flag off a caution period that netted him a two-lap penalty form USAC officials. Despite the criticism, everyone recognized that “Little Al” was bound to be a star, a prediction proven correct when he won the Indianapolis 500-mile race in 1992 and 1994 and reigned as the CART champion in 1990 and 1994 with 31 race wins during his 17 seasons in CART.  

Yes, that is Tom Sneva's signature on the rear wing! 

  

Al Unser Junior’s restored rookie ride was shown in the special Unser Family Tribute presented by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum at the 2018 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show in Indianapolis Indiana.  

All photos by the author