Unser seeks win at track that is his life

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Chips, salsa and cigarettes are spread out on the table inside Al Unser Jr.'s motorhome.

They are proof that despite all his efforts to change, to get in shape, to start anew this year, indeed some habits are hard to break for Little Al.

Count his unyielding love for the Indianapolis 500 as one of Unser's most intense addictions.

"A lot of people ask it in a lot of different ways," the 40-year-old, two-time Indy champion said. "And what they're trying to ask is, `What does Indy mean?' I search for the words and I don't have them. The only thing I can say is, Indy is life to me."

Those were almost exactly the same words he uttered 10 years ago, when he won his first Indy 500 and joined his father Al, a four-time champion, and his uncle Bobby, a three-time champion, by putting his likeness on the famed Borg-Warner Trophy.

Two years later, Little Al won again, and it appeared another Unser dynasty was on tap.

But the magic ended suddenly. In 1995, Unser failed to qualify as a defending champion -- maybe the most humiliating moment of his career.

A year later came the split between the Championship Auto Racing Teams and the new Indy Racing League. Unser spent five years on the outside looking in on his favorite race.

By the time he made it back, in 2000, he was out of shape, going through a divorce and just starting to cope with his daughter Cody's complicated fight with a rare illness.

He was no longer considered a major factor in the world of open-wheel racing, and he fought the perception that his passion for the sport had passed him by.

"Definitely one of the toughest things I've been through," Unser said.

Things are different now thanks to a chain of events that began when his old friend, Rick Galles, lost his sponsorship and had to disband his team after last season.

Unwilling to fade away, Unser sought a spot on Eddie Cheever's team. Cheever, a fitness buff, persuaded Unser to get in shape at the Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, Fla., the same place where Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati work out.

"It's easy to tell why he's been such a good driver all along because of the mental toughness he has," his trainer at the resort, Pat Etcheberry, said when Unser showed up. "Now we have to be able to back that up physically."

Little Al spent two weeks going through the "joys" of intense training - throwing up, running on the treadmill and lifting weights. He stayed with it, lost 30 pounds and said he felt better than ever.

But Cheever wound up hiring South African Tomas Scheckter, in large part because Cheever's sponsor liked Scheckter more than Unser.

Unwilling to give up, Unser found a sponsor, and brought it to car owner Tom Kelley. Kelley gave him a ride and Unser's ultimate goal -- competing at Indy -- was assured.

"We felt like we had to bring someone on board who could win right away," Kelley said. "And people have said they've never seen him with such enthusiasm."

Unser says he has stayed loyal to the treadmill since he finished his mini boot camp in Florida. He thought the regimen Etcheberry put him through was a little much, simply "because it was a lot more than the strain a race car driver is usually under."

Still, he knew he needed to fight through some of the stereotypes the racing community held about the Unsers, who have always been known to love their parties much more than their exercise rooms. He needed to show he was serious about the sport he loved.

"There was a perception in the racing world that I'm a very good race car driver, but when I get away from the racetrack, I don't take things as seriously," he said. "So, we changed that."

He feels better and says his stamina has increased.

"But the results in the race car have been the same, and that's all most people care about," he said.

He finished in fifth place in Phoenix, but didn't crack the top 10 in the IRL's other three races this season.

He's in a top-notch car with Kelley Racing, a far cry from what Galles was patching together for him the last two years. Of course, Unser did win twice on the IRL circuit with Galles, victories that were a testament to his driving ability more than the cars he drove.

Now, Unser is back at Indy, and he thinks he has a chance to win. Of all the story lines for Sunday's race, Little Al in Victory Lane would surely be one of the grandest.

"This is the crown jewel, and it's what I live for," Unser said. "Without it, I'm a real bear to live with. And with it, I just can't get enough."

 

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