Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser will be the guest of honor at the 22nd annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, scheduled for March 10-12, 2017.
Growing up in a racing family meant that becoming a racing driver was simply the natural progression of his life, and Al Unser made the most of it. He raced everything he could get his hands on, from midgets and sprint cars to Indycars, sports cars, stock cars, Formula 5000 and Can-Am, on dirt and paved ovals, road courses and the family’s own back yard of the Pikes Peak Hillclimb. And, oh yes, won in most of them, as well as claiming a handful of IROC races and that series’ 1987 championship.
He was the second man to win four Indy 500s, his 39 Indycar wins rank him fourth all-time and he’s been crowned U.S. National Champion on three occasions. He is the only driver ever to win Indycar racing’s 500-mile Triple Crown (above), and also shares the record for most Indycar wins in a single season, 10, with A.J. Foyt. He’s the oldest driver ever to win the Indy 500 (just five days short of his 48th birthday), has led the most laps of any driver in Indianapolis history, and is the only Indy winner to share that distinction with both a brother and a son.
“The 100th running of the Indy 500 has made us even more nostalgic than usual,” said Bill Warner, founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. “When we started to think about an honoree for 2017, Big Al seemed like the perfect choice. Next May is the 30th anniversary of his fourth ‘500’ victory and the 60th anniversary of his first race win; perfect bookends to an extraordinary career. We were very flattered when he agreed to join us in 2017.”
For complete information, please visit www.ameliaconcours.org