Al Unser Jr.

He suffered personal tragedy when his sister Debbie was killed in a dune buggy accident, but this did not deter Unser; and a year later, he competed in his first Indianapolis 500, finishing 9th.

Hours after the race ended, Unser Jr. was issued a 2-lap penalty by chief steward Thomas W. Binford for passing 2 cars under caution with less than 40 laps to go as well as blocking eventual winner Tom Sneva from passing his father with less than 20 laps to go.

Alfred Unser Jr. (born April 19, 1962) – nicknamed "Little Al" to distinguish him from his father, Al Unser – is an American retired racing driver.

Known primarily for his Championship car career, Unser won two CART championships, and is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.

He soon moved into road racing, winning the Super Vee title in 1981 and the Can-Am title in 1982.

Early in his career, Unser found success in the Can-Am series, winning the championship in 1982.

In 1982, Unser made his debut on the CART circuit.

He joined his great uncle, uncle, and father, as a winner of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, doing so in 1983.

He is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona.

He has the most Long Beach Grand Prix victories in history, winning six times.

Unser was born into a racing family in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He is the son of Al Unser and the nephew of Bobby Unser, both Indianapolis 500 winners themselves.

The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times.

By the age of 11, Al Junior was racing sprint cars.

After high school, he was already in the World of Outlaws series of sprint car racing.

He finished second in the CART championship point standings in 1985, losing to his father by just one point.

He began competing in the IROC championship in 1986, winning that championship with two victories in four races.

At the age of 24, Unser was the youngest IROC champion ever.

Unser won the 1986 and 1988 IROC championships, the final Indycar driver to win an IROC championship.

Unser won the 24 Hours of Daytona, also at age 24 for the first time in 1986 and again in 1987.

Unser continued to improve on the CART circuit, finishing fourth in the points standings in 1986, third in 1987, second in 1988 and finally winning the series for the first time in 1990.

In 1989, Unser was on the verge of winning his first Indianapolis 500, but while battling with Emerson Fittipaldi for the lead the two touched wheels and Unser spun, hitting the wall and ending his chances.

This race is remembered for a remarkable show of sportsmanship, as Little Al climbed out of his wrecked racecar and gave Fittipaldi the "thumbs up" as he drove by Unser under caution.

Unser would have his day at Indy in 1992, however, defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.

During the off-season he drove in the 1993 Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports finishing 36th in his only NASCAR start.

He ran well in the race, running with the lead pack all day, until a late race crash with Kyle Petty and Bobby Hillin Jr.. During an interview with Mike Joy after the accident, Joy asked him if he would be back.

Unser said that he wanted to come back, but it would never happen.

Unser also tested a Williams F1 car but never competed in the series.

In 1994, Unser again won at Indy, this time with Penske Racing.

His teammates were Emerson Fittipaldi, the man whom he battled with five years before, and Paul Tracy.

Unser turned in a dominant season-long performance, winning eight of 16 races on his way to his second CART championship, as well as being named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year that year.

In 1995 Unser, along with teammate Emerson Fittipaldi, failed to qualify at Indianapolis, and he would later point to this as the trigger event for his descent into alcoholism and the breakup of his marriage.

He would finish second to Jacques Villeneuve in CART championship points in 1995.

He finished fourth in 1996, despite having a chance of winning the championship until the end of the season.

Unser ranked 13th in 1997, 11th in 1998 and 21st in 1999, not helped by the fact that he had to sit out two races after breaking his leg in the season-opener at Miami in a first-lap accident.

Little Al's decline in performance coincided with the Penske team's struggles with their in-house chassis, Mercedes engines and Goodyear tires, which were being abandoned by most teams during this era in favor of Firestones.

His teammates suffered similarly disappointing results during this time.

The penalty dropped him from an original finish of 9th to 10th.

Despite being lauded for his performance as a rookie, Unser Jr. narrowly lost the rookie of the year award to Teo Fabi.

Unser continued racing on the CART circuit, becoming one of the series' rising stars.