Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Jr. was named Grand Marshal for the 2013 Portland Historic Automobile Races, scheduled for June 27-30 at the Portland International Raceway in Oregon.
The 1990 and 1994 CART champion will return to the site of his first Indy Car win in 1984 at Portland International Raceway. In addition to the inaugural 1984 CART race, Unser won at Portland again in ’94 and ‘95, and was on the podium four additional times.
“Our family has been in racing for over four generations, so the history of the sport is very important to me,” said Unser. “I am looking forward to meeting the fans and drivers, enjoying these great race cars and sharing a bit of our family history.”
Indy Car drivers are not normally known as road racers but Unser cut his teeth turning right as well as left. He won the Super Vee title in 1981 and the Can Am championship in 1982 before moving on to Indy cars. He also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1986 and 1987 driving a Porsche 962 with Al Holbert and Derek Bell. Unser dominated the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in the late ‘80‘s, winning a record six times and became the youngest IROC champion in 1988.
America’s “first family” of racing, the Unsers have nine Indy 500 wins between them, 30 Pikes Peak records, and countless Champ Car, NASCAR, USAC, SCCA, and Sprint Car victories spanning seven decades.
The 60th anniversary of the Corvette will be the feature at the 37th annual Portland Historics and racing gets underway on a new date: June 27-30, 2013. Unser will be on hand to meet the fans, sign autographs and share stories of his illustrious career throughout the weekend.
For additional information, visit www.portlandhistorics.com.
[Source: HMSA]
Going to be an awesome event!