Motorsport: Days of wonder - Indy legend's tales of speed

This weekend Bobby Unser - an absolute legend of American motorsport - returns to familiar turf.

It will be his 52nd visit to the Indy 500, having first visited in 1958. A three-time winner (1968,'75 and'81) and only the second bloke to win in each of three decades, he's as fired up today as he was when he raced on the great track.

The sprightly 76-year-old is as passionate about "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" as anyone could be and loves making the annual pilgrimage to the "Old Brickyard", the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"You know, I still get the biggest kick out of being here even now," said Unser from Indianapolis.

"It's the biggest single-day sporting event in the world, so naturally if a person didn't get really wowed up on this event then there's something wrong with them.

"When I see those cars on the grid on race day my heart starts beating faster. If I had a time machine, I'd do it all over again."

Unser came from a family of racing drivers and was known and respected for his desire to win and for pushing his cars to the limit.

His grandfather Louis was a mechanic whose three sons were the first to ride motorbikes up Pike's Peak in the 1920s. The race is still run today and Bobby Unser won the event 13 times.

Unser learned about cars and racing while in the US Air Force. On leaving, in 1955, he concentrated solely on racing. By 1963 he was ready for the Indy 500 and, despite crashing, finished 33rd.

Five years later he won, setting a new speed record. After collecting a controversial third Indy 500 trophy in 1981, Unser retired from IndyCar racing.

"I missed seeing my eldest son growing up as I was away racing all the time, doing 50 to 60 races a year. So I decided I wasn't going to miss my only other boy growing up and cut back on racing. That didn't work so I just quit IndyCar racing. I still did a bit but it was different. I did some ice racing and a couple of Pike's Peaks just to keep me feeling happy," he said.

The 1981 Indy 500 race was shrouded in controversy as Unser was initially stripped of the title for passing under a yellow - as Mario Andretti, who finished second, also did.

Unser was reinstated after an appeal, and it was the same race that Rick Mears and one of his mechanics were doused in methanol that subsequently caught fire, burning both men badly.

"I had the same fire that Rick had that day. I still have my uniform from that day and the left sleeve still has great big burn-holes in it. The fuel valve was sticking and, when you pulled it out, fuel went all over the place.

"Mine caught fire like Rick's, but instead of getting out of the car, I took a gamble and headed back on to the track. When I got to the back straight and hit about 200 miles an hour, the flames on my arm blew out and the rest of the fuel evaporated - and I went on to win the race," recalled Unser.

He was 47 when he won his last Indy 500 - an age almost unheard of today at the elite level of motor racing. Nascar driver Mark Martin, at 51, would be the exception, and he's still as competitive as anyone, finishing second to Jimmy Johnson in the Sprint Cup in 2009.

"You can stay with Nascar and drag racing a long time but not IndyCars. "Forty-seven was just about a record. It's a lot more precise today, a lot less relaxing and a different type of racing entirely. I used to do both of them, stock cars and IndyCar, and what's more, there was a reason: IndyCars paid a lot better back then," said Unser.

Unser is still a very driven man and makes a point that winners are people who have desires and a burning ambition to get things done properly so they can go onto to win. He sees this desire in Scott Dixon and is impressed with how the Kiwi goes about his business of winning.

"Scott Dixon is one heck of a race car driver, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. He's really good. He's well liked by his peers and the fans like him as well. He does a good job in the car, goes well on the road courses as he does on the oval.

"It doesn't make any difference to him, he just goes fast. If I only had one driver to pick as a winner I'd probably go for Scott. Helio Castroneves is fast as are all the Penske cars, but I think Dixon can take it," said Unser.

UNSER'S ACHIEVEMENTS
* Three-time Indy 500 Champion - 1968, 1975, and 1981
* Two-time National Champion - 1968 and 1974
* 35 Career Indy Car Victories (4th all-time)
* Two-time winner of the International Race of Champions
* 49 Career Pole Positions (3rd all-time)
* Indy 500 Hall of Fame Member,
* International Motorsports Hall of Fame Member
* 13-time winner Pikes Peak Hill Climb
* 8 "500" Mile Victories (Indy 500 - 3, California 500 - 4, Pocono 500 - 1)
* 1989 - Inducted into AARWBA's Legends in Racing
* 1990 - Inducted into International Motorsports Hall of Fame
* 1990 - Inducted into Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, Indiana
* 1993 - Won inaugural Jaguar/Fast Masters Racing Series
* 1993 - Bonneville Salt Flats. Set new land speed record of 223.709 mph
* 1994 - Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame-Novi, Michigan
* 1999 - Indy 500 Front Row Award. Nine-time front row qualifier (68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 75, 77, 80, 81)
* 2003/2004 - Michigan Intl Speedway renamed the pole for Unser's seven-time pole qualifying record as "The Bobby Unser Pole Award"