Bobby Unser, winner of the 68, 75 and 81 Indy 500, has passed away. The announcement was made by his family. The legendary driver passed away due to natural causes at the age of 87 years old in his family home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Written by Hafix Akbar, Edited by Tanishka Vashee
Born in Colorado Springs in 1934, Unser was the brother of known Indy 500 winners, Al Unser Sr. and Jr.
Unser started his way in motorsport at the Roswell Speedway in 49. He won his first championship in Southwestern Modified Stock Cars, which took place at Albuquerque. Bobby went on to serve in the US Air Force from 1953 to 1955 and shortly after, taking his brothers Jerry and Al to pursue their ways in the motorsports industry.
He earned his debut season in IndyCars at the end of the 62 season. It was only until 1967 that he got his first win in the sport and only until 1968 that he won the championship. He finished his career with 35 career IndyCar victories, eight top-three finishes in the season points. He was later inducted to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1990.
After his illustrious career in IndyCar, he went on to be a pundit for some broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, ESPN on IndyCar and some NASCAR events. He also grabbed 13 class titles at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and earned the “King of the Mountain” honour 10 times during his career as the fastest driver overall up the famed mountain.
He is survived by his wife, Lisa; sons Bobby Jr. and Robby; and daughters Cindy and Jeri. We from the Divebomb team express our condolences to the Unser family in this time of hardship.
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