Bobby Unser

Bobby Unser, 87, of Albuquerque passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 2, 2021, at his home.

He was born on Tuesday, February 20, 1934, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Jerome Unser and Mary Craven. Over an accomplished auto racing career which spanned decades, he earned 35 career Indy Car race victories, 49 career Indy Car pole positions, three Indianapolis 500 victories (1968, 1975 and 1981) and two United States Auto Club National Championships (1968 and 1974).

Bobby (3), brother Al (4), and nephew Al, Jr. (2), are the most successful family in Indianapolis 500 history, with a combined nine victories between them. Bobby and Al are the only brothers ever to have won the '500', for which Bobby qualified on the front row - among the top three drivers in the 33-car field - on nine occasions. He shattered the track record by nearly 18 miles per hour (195.940 mph) while winning the pole position for the 1972 race.

Bobby was also a 13-time winner of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and was the 1975 International Race of Champions (IROC) champion. He is a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

Following his racing career, Bobby served as an analyst for auto racing broadcasts on NBC, ABC, and ESPN television. He was part of the ABC-TV broadcast team, which won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Live Sports Special in 1989 and 1990.
Bobby was opinionated, colorful, and enormously entertaining, and he made an extraordinary number of friends - both in and out of racing - throughout the world, each of whom has likely taken the opportunity to share at least one Bobby Unser story at some point during the past several days.

A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Bobby is survived by his wife, Lisa; younger brother, Al; sons, Bobby Jr. and Robby; daughters, Cindy and Jeri; and four grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and brothers, Jerry and Louie.

Please visit our online guestbook for Bobby at www.FrenchFunerals.com.

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