Louis Unser Jr. (March 16, 1896 – October 18, 1979) was an American racing driver. He was the patriarch of the Unser family of American auto racers. He was renowned for his hill-climbing career, winning the Pikes Peak Hill Climb nine times between 1934 and 1953.
Oldest Indy car driver
Unser is officially the oldest ever Indy car driver to have started a race. He raced the 1965 Pikes Peak Hill Climb at the age of 69 years 3 months and 19 days, however his record is often given to A. J. Foyt, who competed in the 1992 Indianapolis 500 at the age of 57 years 4 months and 8 days.
Unser is also the oldest Indy car winner. He won the 1953 Pikes Peak Hill Climb at the age of 57 years 5 months and 22 days, however his record is often given to Mario Andretti, who won at Phoenix in 1993 at the age of 53 years 1 month and 7 days.
Burial
Unser is buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Awards and honors
Pikes Peak Hill Climb Museum Hall of Fame (1997) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2025)
Motorsports career results
AAA Championship Car results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points 1947 INDY MIL LAN ATL BAI MIL GOS MILPIK SPR ARL 23rd 200 1948 ARL INDY MIL LAN MIL SPR MIL DUQ ATL PIK7 SPR DUQ 42nd 60 1949 ARL INDY MIL TRE SPR MIL DUQ PIK2 SYR DET SPR LAN SAC DMR 27th 160 1950INDY MIL LAN SPR MIL PIK3 SYR DET SPR SAC PHX BAY DAR 29th 140 1951 INDY MIL LAN DAR SPR MIL DUQ DUQ PIK3 SYR DET DNC SJS PHX BAY 33rd 140 1952 INDY MIL RAL SPR MIL DET DUQ PIK2 SYR DNC SJS PHX 25th 160 1953 INDY MIL SPR DET SPR MIL DUQ PIK1 SYR ISF SAC PHX 25th 200 1954 INDY MIL LAN DARSPR MIL DUQ PIK18 SYR ISFSAC PHX LVG-0 1955 INDY MIL LAN SPR MIL DUQ PIK11 SYR ISF SAC PHX 51st 20 1965 PHX TRE INDY MIL LAN PPR TRE IRP ATL LAN MIL ISF MIL DSF INF TRE SAC PHX 56th 5
See also
Unser (disambiguation) for other family members who were race car drivers
References