Johnny Unser

Last updated
John William Unser
Johnny Unser.jpg
Unser in 2009
Nationality Flag of the United States.svg American
Born (1958-10-22) October 22, 1958 (age 66)
Long Beach, California, U.S.
Retired2001
Related to Jerry Unser (father)
Al Unser (uncle)
Bobby Unser (uncle)
Al Unser Jr. (cousin)
Robby Unser (cousin)
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
Years active1996–2000
Teams Project Indy
Byrd-Cunningham Racing
Hemelgarn Racing
Starts15
Wins0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish24th in 1996–1997
Previous series
1993–1994 CART

Johnny Unser (born October 22, 1958) is a former race car driver and current race steward for the USF Juniors series. He is the son of open wheel driver Jerry Unser Jr., cousin of Al Unser Jr. and Robby Unser, nephew of Al Unser and Bobby Unser, and first cousin once removed of Alfred Unser. Unser's father, Jerry, died in a racing accident when Unser was seven months old. He made 5 starts in CART in 1993 and 1994 with a best result of 15th. He joined the Indy Racing League in its inaugural 1996 season but had a transmission failure during the pace lap of what would've been his first Indianapolis 500 and was not credited with completing any laps. In 1997 he made his first start in the Indy 500 starting in the 35th position after League and Speedway owner Tony George added his and Lyn St. James' car to the field because slower cars than theirs were guaranteed starting positions because of prior races. He went on to finish 18th, his best "500" result in 5 starts. Unser drove the majority of his IRL races for Hemelgarn Racing and in his 14 career IRL starts he had a best finish of 9th in his first series start in 1996 at Phoenix International Raceway. His last major open wheel race was the 2000 Indy 500.

Contents

On January 14 2008 Johnny Unser was named as the race director for the 2008 Champ Car Atlantic Championship. [1] He is currently a driver coach and adviser to the Mazda Road to Indy and racing adviser and spokesman for Cooper Tire. He is an official for Indycar in Race Control and is also the owner of Unser Racing, Karting and Entertainment track in Denver, Colorado.

Racing record

American Open Wheel

(key)

CART

YearTeam12345678910111213141516RankPointsRef
1993 Dale Coyne Racing SRF
PHX
LBH
INDY
MIL
DET
POR
18
CLE
TOR
17
MIC
NHA
18
ROA
VAN
21
MDO
NAZ
LS
44th0 [2]
1994 Dale Coyne Racing SRF
PHX
DNQ
LBH
DNQ
INDY
MIL
DNQ
DET
POR
CLE
TOR
MIC
MDO
NHA
15
VAN
ROA
NAZ
LS
39th0 [3]

IndyCar

YearTeam1234567891011RankPointsRef
1996 Project Indy WDW
PHX
9
INDY
33
24th56 [4]
1996-97 Project Indy NHM
DNQ
LVS
22
WDW
PHX
      24th107 [5]
Hemelgarn Racing      INDY
18
     LV2
19
Byrd-Cunningham Racing       TXS
10
PPIR
21
CLT
NH2
13
 
1998 Hemelgarn Racing WDW
PHX
INDY
25
TXS
NHM
DOV
CLT
PPIR
ATL
TX2
LVS
40th5 [6]
1999 Hemelgarn Racing WDW
PHX
CLT
C
INDY
32
TXS
15
PPIR
13
ATL
13
DOV
PPI2
LVS
23
TX2
DNQ
27th57 [7]
2000 Indy Regency Racing WDW
PHX
LVS
INDY
22
TXS
PPIR
ATL
KTY
TX2
42nd8 [8]

Indianapolis 500 results

YearChassisEngineStartFinish
1996 Reynard Ford-Cosworth 16th33rd
1997 Dallara Infiniti 35th18th
1998 Dallara Oldsmobile 25th25th
1999 Dallara Oldsmobile 30th32nd
2000 G-Force Oldsmobile 30th22nd

24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-driversCarClassLapsPos.Class
pos.
1995 Flag of the United States.svg Callaway Competition Flag of Italy.svg Enrico Bertaggia
Flag of Germany.svg Frank Jelinski
Callaway Corvette LMGT22739th2nd
Source: [9]

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References

  1. Johnny Unser named Atlantic Race Director, TSN.ca, January 14, 2008
  2. "Johnny Unser – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  3. "Johnny Unser – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  4. "Johnny Unser – 1996 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  5. "Johnny Unser – 1997 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  6. "Johnny Unser – 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  7. "Johnny Unser – 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  8. "Johnny Unser – 2000 Indy Racing Northern Lights Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  9. "Johnny Unser". Automobile Club de l'Ouest . Retrieved August 7, 2023.