Alfred "Al" Unser is an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. Now retired, he is the second of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times, the fourth of five to have won the race in consecutive years, and won the National Championship in 1970, 1983, and 1985. The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times. He is the only person to have both a sibling (Bobby) and child as fellow Indy 500 winners. Al's nephews Johnny and Robby Unser have also competed in that race.
The 54th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 30, 1970.
The 56th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Saturday, May 27, 1972. The race is notable in that for the first time, the cars were permitted bolt-on wings, and speeds climbed dramatically. Bobby Unser won the pole position at a then-remarkable speed of 195.940 mph (315.3 km/h) for four laps, breaking Peter Revson's track record of 178.696 mph (287.6 km/h) from 1971 by 17.244 mph (27.8 km/h) – the largest one-year track record increase in Indy history. The race average speed of 162.962 mph (262.3 km/h) was also a new record, which stood until 1984.
The 79th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1995. Sanctioned by USAC, it was part of the 1995 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season. Jacques Villeneuve won in his second start. After dominating the 1994 race and the 1994 IndyCar season, Marlboro Team Penske failed to qualify for the race. Defending Indy 500 winner Al Unser, Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi (bumped) could not get their cars up to speed.
The 78th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 1994. The race was sanctioned by United States Auto Club (USAC), and was included as race number 4 of 16 of the 1994 PPG IndyCar World Series. For the second year in a row, weather was nary a factor during the month. Only one practice day was lost to rain, and pole day was only partially halted due to scattered showers. Warm, sunny skies greeted race day.
The 76th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 24, 1992. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser, Jr. held off second place Scott Goodyear for the victory by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indy history. Unser, Jr. became the first second-generation driver to win the Indy 500, following in the footsteps of his father Al Unser, Sr. He also became the third member of the famous Unser family to win the race.
The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event was most recently held in 2007. From 1981 to 2001, the event was better-known as the Michigan 500, and was held in high prestige. During its heyday of the 1980s, the race was part of Indy car racing's 500-mile "Triple Crown".
The eighth year of IROC competition took place in 1984. IROC VIII saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, and was the first incarnation of the current IROC format in which twelve drivers from different series compete in all four races. Races one and four took place at Michigan International Speedway, while race two took place at Burke Lakefront Airport, and race three ran on the Talladega Superspeedway. Cale Yarborough won one race en route to the championship, and took home $150,000 for his efforts.
The ninth year of IROC competition took place in 1985. IROC IX saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, was the second straight season that television coverage was on CBS, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Mid-Ohio, race three was rained out at Talladega Superspeedway, and race four concluded the year at Michigan International Speedway. Harry Gant won the championship in a tie-breaker with Darrell Waltrip, and took home $158,200 for his efforts.
The tenth year of IROC competition took place in 1986. IROC X saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, it was the final season that television coverage was on CBS, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Mid-Ohio, race three ran at Talladega Superspeedway, and race four concluded the year at Watkins Glen International. Al Unser, Jr. won the championship, and took home $164,100 for his efforts.
The eleventh year of IROC competition took place in 1987. IROC XI saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, the beginning of a long partnership with ABC/ESPN, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Mid-Ohio, race three ran at Michigan International Speedway, and race four concluded the year at Watkins Glen International. Geoff Bodine won the championship, and took home $191,900 for his efforts.
The twelfth year of IROC competition took place in 1988. IROC XII saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Riverside International Raceway, race three ran at Michigan International Speedway, and race four concluded the year at Watkins Glen International. Al Unser, Jr. won his second championship, and took home $211,900 for his efforts.
The thirteenth year of IROC competition took place in 1989. IROC XIII saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races for the final year, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Nazareth Speedway, race three ran at Michigan International Speedway, and race four concluded the year at Watkins Glen International. Terry Labonte won the series championship, and took home $204,900 for his efforts.
IROC XIV was the fourteenth year of the International Race of Champions auto racing competition. It took place in 1990 and was the first year the Dodge Daytona was used in competition, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Due to not getting enough test time for the new cars, the originally scheduled opener at Daytona International Speedway was canceled. Race one took place on the Talladega Superspeedway, race two took place at Burke Lakefront Airport, and race three ran at Michigan International Speedway. Dale Earnhardt won the series championship, his first of four, and took home $175,000 for his efforts.
The fifteenth year of IROC competition took place in 1991. IROC XV was the second year the Dodge Daytona was used in competition, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Talladega Superspeedway, race three ran at Michigan International Speedway, and the year finished at Watkins Glen International. Rusty Wallace won the series championship, and took home $175,000 for his efforts.
The sixteenth year of IROC competition took place in 1992. IROC XVI was the third year the Dodge Daytona was used in competition, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Talladega Superspeedway, and races three and four ran at Michigan International Speedway. Ricky Rudd won the series championship despite not winning a race, and took home $175,000 for his efforts.
The seventeenth year of IROC competition took place in 1993. IROC XVII was the fourth and final year the Dodge Daytona was used in competition, and continued the format introduced in IROC VIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Darlington Raceway, race three was held at Talladega Superspeedway, and race four ran at Michigan International Speedway. Davey Allison won the series championship posthumously after being killed in a helicopter accident at the Talladega Superspeedway. With only one race remaining, Terry Labonte drove the final race, and the points from that race, applied to Allison's previous total, were enough to secure the championship. The winnings of $175,000 were placed in a trust fund for Allison's children.
The eighteenth year of IROC competition took place in 1994. IROC XVIII was the first year the Dodge Avenger was used in competition, replacing the Dodge Daytona, and continued the format introduced in IROC XVIII. Race one took place on the Daytona International Speedway, race two took place at Darlington Raceway, race three ran at Talladega Superspeedway, and the year finished at Michigan International Speedway. Mark Martin won the series championship, and took home $200,000 for his efforts.
The 2009 NASCAR Camping World East Series was the 23rd season of the Camping World East Series, a touring series sanctioned by NASCAR. The schedule was announced on December 24, 2008 with eleven races at ten different tracks. The series lost three tracks from last year's schedule but gains one new track for this season. The Tennessee State Fairgrounds was initially on the schedule but changes in management of the track at the track resulted in the loss of the event.
The 1996 Tyson Holly Farms 400 was the twenty-seventh stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It was held on September 29, 1996 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in Wilkes County, North Carolina. The 400-lap race was won by Jeff Gordon of the Hendrick Motorsports team after he started from second position. Dale Earnhardt finished second and Dale Jarrett came in third.
