Unser Jr.

Al Unser, Jr. has faced unemployment before.

"At the end of '84 for the '85 season I was signed up with Lotus," said Unser. "Then come January, I get a call and am told that there is no race team!"

Unser rebounded well from that first team folding. Doug Shierson called Al offering him a seat in the Domino's ride.

"I didn't have anything before that call and wasn't going to have anything and then blam! I'm in the Shierson car," chuckled Unser.

"Little Al" won consecutive races at Meadowlands and Cleveland that season and finished runner-up by one point, 151-150, to his father, Al Unser, in the CART championship point standings. It was the closest finish in series history until Juan Montoya and Dario Franchitti tied in 1999 and the title went to Montoya on a tie breaking rule.

At the end of 2001 Unser found himself in a similar situation. After winning at St. Louis, Unser and Galles were seemingly poised for a solid 2002 campaign together. Then after thinking they had a solid sponsorship from Budweiser, Galles announced at the end of the year that he was shutting down his team.

"When Rick told me he was closing his doors I was speechless," remembers Unser. "The reason it was hard to find another ride was because all the rides were taken."

The two time Indy 500 winner finally did get a ride on Feb. 21, just seven days before the IRL was to open their 2002 campaign in Homestead with the Miami Grand Prix. Unser joined Kelley Racing, replacing Greg Ray, as teammate to Scott Sharp.

It is, in Unser's opinion, the best opportunity he has had in his IRL career and the best team he has driven for since he and Roger Penske agreed to part company at the end of the 1999 CART season.

"I got my polished A-arms back, my polished wheels back," joked a very happy and relieved Unser. "Tom Kelley's team is every bit a Penske type team like no other."

Unser is ready for the season to start. "Its tough to keep your chin up and stay excited about driving when you may have a chance given the right circumstances, to win. This place is not like that. It's the fastest car long before I ever get in it."

Unser's efforts are backed this season by Corteco, a manufacturer of automotive aftermarket sealing and vibration control products and the world's largest supplier of original-equipment (OE) automotive gaskets and seals.

"The Unser name has been synonymous with racing for a long time," team owner Tom Kelley said. "But Al Jr.'s accomplishments stand alone, and we're proud to have him aboard."

When the team unloads in Homestead, Unser will turn his first laps since exiting the Galles car at the end of the Chevy 500 last September in Texas.

"The crew asked me when was the last time I drove and I told them Texas," said Unser. "Then they asked me if I had ever driven a Dallara and I told them nope. That's when they all sighed and looked up to the ceiling

"I told them 'Look boys. Put four wheels on and give me a steering wheel. It's nothing but a race car and I'm gonna drive the heck out of it!'"