{"id":15436,"date":"2015-05-28T17:24:36","date_gmt":"2015-05-29T00:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=15436"},"modified":"2015-05-29T09:36:28","modified_gmt":"2015-05-29T16:36:28","slug":"al-and-robby-unser-autocross-for-team-speedway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/al-and-robby-unser-autocross-for-team-speedway\/","title":{"rendered":"Al and Robby Unser Autocross for Team Speedway"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gallery.Photo2--Robby
Al Unser, Jr and Robby Unser pose in front of Team Speedway’s AutoCross vehicle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you’re talking about racing, Al Unser, Jr and Robby Unser are both names that might come up. \u00a0One is a two-time Indianapolis 500 champ, the other a 9 time winner of the Pikes Peak Hillclimb. However, neither is likely to make the list of likely autocross stars. But that’s exactly what they’re doing, racing for Speedway Motors as part of Team Speedway in the Goodguys 2nd Indy Nationals at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on June 5-7, 2015.<\/p>\n

We had a few questions for the drivers about this event, their participation, and what they hope to accomplish. they were gracious enough to answer. \u00a0To see them race in the Pro Class, check out the competition both days of the event at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.<\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS<\/p>\n

1. What made you both decide to compete for Team Speedway this year?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Al Unser Jr:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0The deal for me came about with my cousin Robby. He talked about how much fun it was to drive the Nova at the AutoCross events. He said that I should give it a try. I tried it and he was right. It\u2019s a blast! And with Team Speedway, Jane and Carson are a wonderful family and I truly enjoy working with them.<\/p>\n

Robby Unser: <\/strong>I drove for Speedway almost 30 years ago and we always had great success working together, so when Carson called me last year when they decided to run the Nova in an SCCA invitational event they were hosting, I was honored and excited and happily accepted.<\/p>\n

2. Autocross is very different than other types of racing? What appeals to you about it? What challenges you?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Al Unser Jr:\u00a0<\/strong>The fact that it\u2019s extremely narrow going through the cones and it\u2019s very challenging to go fast without knocking down the cones.<\/p>\n

Robby Unser: <\/strong>I think autocross is a great platform to develop the parts and products for the muscle car, hot rod, & pro-touring cars.\u00a0 From the driving perspective, autocross is challenging in that it is very precise and technical, so for me makes it a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

3. What’s been your best run so far?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Al Unser Jr:<\/strong>\u00a0My best run has been at our last event in Nashville where I finished third! (Soon to have a win!)<\/p>\n

Robby Unser:\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019ve truly enjoyed every run.\u00a0 Every event is a different course and I love meeting new people, connecting with fans and friends, and giving people rides in a really awesome car.<\/p>\n

\"B02I0482<\/p>\n

4. How do you approach these events for Team Speedway? What’s the ultimate goal of competing in the Autocross competition?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Al Unser Jr: <\/strong>The ultimate goal in competing is to win and to showcase our \u201965 Nova with the G-Comp suspension, our BluePrint racing engines, and our AFCO\u00a0parts and pieces.<\/p>\n

Robby Unser:\u00a0<\/strong>As with any competition we\u2019re always trying to win, but for Team Speedway we really focus on developing and improving our sponsor\u2019s products and making the car the very best it can possibly be.<\/p>\n

5. What’s the best part of these events for you?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Al Unser Jr:\u00a0<\/strong>Getting to talk to and mingle with the race fans that come out to watch the Autocross. And of course driving the \u201965 Nova for Team Speedway!<\/p>\n

Robby Unser: \u00a0<\/strong>The interaction with the people, being able to meet the fans, spend time with them and give them rides.\u00a0 I also love working with Team Speedway and really enjoy working on making the car it\u2019s best.\u00a0 We have a great team and I really enjoy these events.<\/p>\n

\"B02I0362<\/p>\n

6. Any advice for the non-professionals as they tackle the Autocross course?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Al Unser Jr:\u00a0<\/strong>Ummm, the advice most given at the Autocross events for the non-professionals is DO NOT knock down the cones! It\u2019s just been an absolute BLAST with the Autocross events around the country. Both Robby and I both enjoy riding with the drivers, having the drivers ride with us, and talking with fans. It\u2019s just been a blast all around.<\/p>\n

Robby Unser:\u00a0<\/strong>First make sure you enjoy yourself and have fun.\u00a0 Take it easy, learn the course, and slowly start pushing your car.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Al Unser, Jr and Robby Unser are competing at the Goodguys 2nd Indy Nationals in June, racing Autocross for Team Speedway. They answer our questions on WHY. (Hint, it’s a heck of a lot of fun).<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":15438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3470],"tags":[2775,981,159,158,986,1891,2309],"class_list":["post-15436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-2nd-indy-nationals","tag-al-unser-jr","tag-autocross","tag-goodguys","tag-robby-unser","tag-speedway-motors","tag-team-speedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Robby-And-Al-JrFeature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-40Y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15436"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15445,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15436\/revisions\/15445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}