Cheever

I entered the gym at Texas Motor Speedway and thought I was alone. I wasn't. There, back in a far corner, was a lone figure on a treadmill. I thought, "Naw, it can't be him." It was.

The morning of his victory at Texas, Al Unser Jr. was sweating his guts out on a treadmill. I thought, "That's not the same guy I knew 12 months ago." I trained for about 30 minutes and got up to leave. There was Al, still running, still sweating, still making amends.

I'm not saying that his intense early morning workout was the reason Al won, but I think he knows that being in shape is part of being a successful racer. It helps the pieces fall into place. The effort did show me one thing, though: The passion, along with Al Unser Jr., is back.

It's impossible to discount someone who has a lot of passion for what he does. The Unsers didn't win nine Indy 500s without having passion. Yes, it is public knowledge that Al went through a rough period last year, but he made a conscious decision about his future. In a public forum, with all of the scrutiny and embarrassment, he made things right.

Texas is by far the most mentally challenging track we race on, not because of the track configuration, but because of the traffic and the strategy. While it appears to be a physical track, it's actually a mental track. You wonder when to show your car. How long do you wait? Al just outsmarted everybody. This was about a man overcoming his mistakes and his problems and proving that – at age 41 – he still has what it takes. It was great to watch.

Everyone is aware of what happened to Al. Last year, after a race in Kansas City, he was arrested in Indianapolis on a domestic abuse charge. He entered rehab, got himself sober and returned to racing. He took the right path. He knew that if he put the effort into it, all the numbers would fall into place. They did. Al Unser Jr. still has it.

Addiction is a much more serious matter than a simple injury. It is a complicated issue, one that requires tremendous strength and dedication to overcome. Not only did he do it, but he did it as a public figure. I can only imagine how embarrassing and humiliating it must have been to acknowledge it, yet he did. He grabbed it and wrestled it to the floor.

Of this year's accomplishments in the IRL IndyCar Series, Unser's return ranks up there with Gil de Ferran's win at Indy. Al's cycle of recovery was completed when he won at Texas. It will always be a struggle. He will always have to work at it. From one colleague and friend to another, I take my hat off to him. He didn't just win the race; he won an even bigger battle. He's put the past in an envelope and sealed it with a win.

I recognize Al Unser Jr. again, and I'm proud of him.

IRL IndyCar Series owner Eddie Cheever Jr. owns the No. 52 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara Chevrolet driven by Buddy Rice. He provides a diary to ESPN.com. Cheever's team Web site can be found at www.cheeverindyracing.com.