Bobby Unser, Indy 500 champ in great racing family, dies pressherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pressherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Indianapolis 500 winner and part of the only pair of brothers to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” has died. He was 87.
He died Sunday at his home in Albuquerque,
New Mexico of natural causes, The Indianapolis Speedway said Monday. Unser won the Indy 500 in 1968, 1975 and 1981.
His younger brother, Al, is one of only three four-time Indy 500 winners in race history. Al Unser won the race in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987. The Unser family tradition stretched to Al Unser’s son, Al Unser Jr., who won the Indy 500 in 1992 and 1994.
Bobby Unser was born Feb. 20, 1934, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but moved with his family as a child to New Mexico. His father owned a garage along Route 66 and he his brother grew up tooling around in old jalopies before he began his racing career in 1949 at Roswell New Mexico Speedway.
Bobby Unser died Sunday at his home in Albuquerque of natural causes
Unser started racing jalopies in New Mexico before becoming a thre-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 - in 1968, 1975 and 1981
Unser was a member of one America s most famed racing families and one of the greatest drivers in the history of the speedway
Unser was one of six members of the Unser family to race in the Indianapolis 500; an older brother, Jerry, died in a crash preparing for the 1959 Indy 500
Younger brother Al Unser is one of only three drivers to win the Indy 500 four times - 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987
The Unser family tradition stretched to Al Unser s son, Al Unser Jr., who won Indy in 1992 and 1994
Bobby Unser, 87, Indianapolis 500 champ in great racing family, dies
FILE - In this May 24, 1981, file photo, Bobby Unser holds three fingers aloft after winning his third Indianapolis 500 auto race ,in Indianapolis, Ind. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser has died. He died of natural causes at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Sunday, May 2, 2021. He was 87. (AP Photo/File) Anonymous
FILE - Auto racer Bobby Unser is shown at the Indianapolis 500 auto race in Indianapolis, Ind., in this May 30, 1971, file photo. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser has died. He died of natural causes at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Sunday, May 2, 2021. He was 87. (AP Photo/Chuck Robinson, File) CR
3 May, 2021
American Indy legend Bobby Unser, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and one of the only pair of brothers to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” has died. He was 87.
He died Sunday at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico of natural causes, Indianapolis Motor Speedway said Monday. Unser won the Indy 500 in 1968, 1975 and 1981.
His younger brother, Al, is one of only three four-time Indy 500 winners in race history. Al Unser won the race in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987. The Unser family tradition stretched to Al Unser’s son, Al Unser Jr., who won the Indy 500 in 1992 and 1994.
“Bobby was a ferocious competitor on the track, and his larger-than-life personality made him one of the most beloved and unique racers we have ever seen,” said Roger Penske, the current owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway but the team owner for Unser’s 1981 Indy 500 winning car.