Al Unser, Jr. (1992, 1994)

Your uncle has won the Indianapolis 500 three times. Your father and name-sake is a record-holding four-time winner. You think there might be a bit of pressure on you.

Apparently not, at least not for "Little Al."

That being said, Al Unser, Jr., a two-time winner himself, never hid how much Indianapolis means.


Little Al was a big scene when coming into Indianapolis for the first time in 1983. At that point, the name Unser was synonymous with winning and with legend. His father, Al Unser, Sr., had won three times by then, and his uncle Bobby Unser also had his face on the Borg-Warner trophy three times. Expectations were high for the newest Unser driving around the Brickyard, and he didn't disappoint, qualifying 5th in his rookie campaign and being a consistent force in his first few races at Indy.

It wasn't until 1989 when Junior would make a big splash. With ten laps to go, Emerson Fittipaldi is quickly losing his lead to Little Al. On lap 195, Unser is right on Emo's tail going into turn one, and on the backstretch, Unser finally catches and completes the pass. He's fives laps away from becoming the third member of the Unser family to win at Indianapolis.

Fittipaldi doesn't give up, though. on lap 199, the lead is less than a car length. Lapped traffic on the backstretch doesn't help, and Fittipaldi goes for the pass. Unser pushes him down almost to the grass to avoid contact with lapped cars. They go into turn three side by side, Emo on the inside, Little Al on the outside, neither giving an inch. As Fittipaldi would say, two went into the corner, but only one was going to make it out.

Both drivers are pushing the car as hard as they can. Emo's car begins to slide up the track (you can see in the video below how the back end just gives) and a puff of smoke indicates contact. With no Unser there, Emo's car might slide rear-first into the outside wall. Instead, it is Unser who does a 180 and crashes into the turn 3 barrier, bringing out the yellow and giving Fittipaldi his first Indy 500 championship.  He led 158 laps on the way to victory.

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO BELOW! NO WORDS CAN FULLY EXPRESS HOW FURIOUS LITTLE AL MUST HAVE BEEN AT BEING KNOCKED OUT OF THE RACE WITH 1.5 LAPS LEFT! BUT INSTEAD OF DOING WHAT HE WANTED TO DO, MAKE A SCENE AND SHOW HIS DISPLEASURE, HE SHOWS A CLASS ACT AND WISHES CONGRATULATIONS TO A FIRST TIME CHAMPION!

Little Al earned the hearts of millions that day (along with Fittipaldi). After finishing 2nd in the thrilling 1989 race, Little Al finished 4th in both 1990 and 1991. Everybody could just tell that one day he'd drink the milk. That would happen three years later, in 1992, in quite possibly the most thrilling finish in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

With 12 laps left to go, Little Al passes Scott Goodyear (who started 33rd and last) for second place. Both drivers are still a half of a lap behind a dominant Michael Andretti. However, after leading 160 laps and having victory in sight, Andretti slows and coast to a stop on the front stretch. It's just another heartbreak in the Andretti Family history at Indy. However, it lets Unser inherit the lead with Goodyear in second place when the field goes back to green on lap 194.

The two drivers are dead even for the last seven laps. Unser can't pull away, Goodyear can't make a pass. It is a thrilling dash to the finish, fans on their feet and screaming as they come around each time. As they come out of turn 4 on the last lap, Unser gets a little loose. That's all Goodyear needs, as he's able to dive to the inside as Unser has to momentarily lift. They are side by side going to the finish, but manages to be a half a car length short. The .043 margin of victory is still the closest in Indy 500 history. (The video below showcases the great last seven laps of the race, plus the immortal words of Little Al at 9:01)

Little Al would get his face on the Borg-Warner trophy again, two years later in 1994 (fittingly, Fittipaldi won in 1993). This win was one of domination from the beginning for the now-teammates of Fittipaldi and Unser. Actually, with 20 laps to go, Fittipaldi passes Unser to put Little Al a lap down! Three laps later, Unser gets his lap back, but they still are fighting like it's a battle for position! on lap 185, Fittipaldi blows what appears to be a lock at victory when he gets too high coming out of turn 4. Instead of putting his teammate a lap down again, he puts himself out of the race.  Unser would take the lead and win comfortably under yellow after a Stan Fox crash on lap 197.

That was the last 500 for Unser, Jr., until 2000 thanks to the open-wheel split. How many could Little Al have won? It doesn't matter, because there was never a more classy of a winner, and certainly never a more classy of a loser either, at Indianapolis. "You just don't know what Indy means!"