rpm.espn.com: Al Unser Jr.

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Wednesday, January 8
Updated: February 11, 11:35 AM ET

Al Unser Jr.
By Robin Miller
ESPN.com

Team: Kelley Racing
Nationality: American

Al Unser Jr.
Unser

STATS (CART)

Year
Rank
Wins
Top 5
Top 10
Poles
Best finish

2002 7 0 4 7 0 2nd, twice

Career 2 10 19 0 1st, twice

2002 recap
The good: Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. posted a pair of second-place finishes and a pair of fifth-place efforts, while leading 200 laps in his 13 starts in 2002.

Season highlight: Unser staged a thrilling duel with Jeff Ward at Texas only to lose by a whisker (0.0111 of a second) at the checkered flag.

The bad: He started second in the season finale at Texas and led five laps before his engine expired.

Season lowlight: The veteran missed two races while undergoing alcohol abuse treatment midway through the season.

Al Unser Jr.
Al Unser Jr., left, suffered through his most difficult year yet in 2002.

Key stat: Unser missed two starts and still wound up seventh in Indy Racing League's final standings.

2003 outlook
The 41-year-old veteran survived being arrested for assaulting his girlfriend and a stay in alcohol rehab to come back looking fit and fast. He returns with Kelley Racing and will be one of Toyota's IRL bullets.

Your take
Here are your thoughts on Unser Jr., his rough run in 2002 and his outlook for the future.

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