{"id":241262,"date":"2021-05-03T22:57:51","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T19:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/bobby-unser-three-time-indy-500-winner-dead-at-87\/"},"modified":"2021-05-03T22:57:51","modified_gmt":"2021-05-03T19:57:51","slug":"bobby-unser-three-time-indy-500-winner-dead-at-87","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/bobby-unser-three-time-indy-500-winner-dead-at-87\/","title":{"rendered":"#Bobby Unser, three-time Indy 500 winner, dead at 87"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Bobby Unser, three-time Indy 500 winner, dead at 87<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Bobby Unser, a beloved three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and part of the only pair of brothers to win \u201cThe Greatest Spectacle in Racing\u201d has died. He was 87.<\/p>\n<p>He died Sunday at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, of natural causes, Indianapolis Motor Speedway said Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Unser was one of the greatest racers in the history at the speedway, capturing the race in 1968, 1975 and 1981.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is part of the Mount Rushmore of Indy,\u201d said Dario Franchitti, another three-time Indy 500 winner.<\/p>\n<p>Younger brother Al Unser is one of only three drivers to win the Indy 500 four times \u2014 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987. The Unser family tradition stretched to Al Unser\u2019s son, Al Unser Jr., who won the Indy 500 in 1992 and 1994.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBobby 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,\u201d said Roger Penske, the current speedway owner but the team owner for Unser\u2019s winning car at the 1981 Indy 500.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeyond his many wins and accomplishments, Bobby was a true racer that raised the performance of everyone around him. He was also one of the most colorful characters in motorsports.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bobby Unser was born Feb. 20, 1934, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and moved with his family as a child to New Mexico. His father owned a garage along Route 66 and he his three brothers grew up tooling around in old jalopies before he quit high school at 15 and began his racing career at Roswell New Mexico Speedway.<\/p>\n<p>After two years in the U.S. Air Force from 1953 to 1955 \u2014 a stint in which he took pride \u2014 Unser turned to racing full time in what became a mighty career.<\/p>\n<p>He was one of just 10 drivers to win the 500 at least three times, and Unser and Rick Mears are the only drivers to win the 500 in three different decades. Unser was one of six members of the Unser family to race in the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Bobby Unser dead at 87\" class=\"wp-image-18139102 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Bobby-Unser-dead-87.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Bobby-Unser-dead-87.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Bobby-Unser-dead-87.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Bobby-Unser-dead-87.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Bobby-Unser-dead-87.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Bobby Unser poses with his car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1981.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">ISC Archives\/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Franchitti spent time each year at the speedway or at dinner with other past winners and said Unser was \u201calways the largest personality in pretty much any room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe showed up at the speedway and regardless of when he last raced, he still understood the race and what it took to win the race and he was still so very insightful,\u201d Franchitti said. \u201cHe loved the Indy 500 so much. He loved coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unser\u2019s final Indy 500 victory in 1981 came in a Penske entry in one of the most contentious outcomes. Unser won from the pole and beat Mario Andretti by 5.18 seconds, but officials ruled Unser passed cars illegally while exiting the pit lane under caution \u2014 drawing a penalty that docked him one position and moved Andretti to winner.<\/p>\n<p>Penske and Unser <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ealed and after a lengthy process the penalty was rescinded in October of that year. It was the 35th and final victory of Unser\u2019s career.<\/p>\n<p>At Indianapolis, Unser produced 10 top-10 finishes in 19 career starts. He led led in 10 races for a total of 440 laps, which to this day ranks 10th on the all-time list. He won two poles, in 1972 and 1981, and had nine front-row starts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you mention icons in racing, and particularly the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Bobby Unser was a legend,\u201d said Doug Boles, president of the speedway. \u201cHe could drive, and win, in any type of car and on any type of track. And he was magical at Indy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After his driving career, Unser moved to a 20-year broadcasting career and won an Emmy Award as part of the ABC Sports broadcast team for \u201cOutstanding Live Sports Special\u201d for its coverage of the 1989 Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n<p>He was in the booth in 1987 when he called brother Al\u2019s record-tying fourth 500 victory, and again in 1992 when nephew Al Unser Jr. won Indy for the first time in the closest 500 finish. When his TV career ended, Unser continued to visit the speedway every May. He was a driver coach who assisted on race strategy in 1998 and 1999 when son Robby Unser finished fifth and eighth.<\/p>\n<p>Unser is survived by his wife, Lisa; sons Bobby Jr. and Robby; and daughters Cindy and Jeri.\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/05\/03\/bobby-unser-three-time-indy-500-winner-dead-at-87\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Bobby Unser, three-time Indy 500 winner, dead at 87&#8221; Bobby Unser, a beloved three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and part of the only pair of brothers to win \u201cThe Greatest Spectacle in Racing\u201d has died. He was 87. He died Sunday at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, of natural causes, Indianapolis Motor Speedway said Monday&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":241264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/05\/Bobby-Unser-dead-at-87.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[104284,88253,104370,5200],"class_list":["post-241262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-5-3-21","tag-auto-racing","tag-indy-500","tag-obituaries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}