Indy racer Unser Jr. moving to Henderson

Wednesday, April 12, 2000 | 10:26 a.m.

Not only has Las Vegas Motor Speedway attracted some high-profile races since its opening in 1996, the facility also has been responsible for luring some top-name racers to Southern Nevada.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. said Tuesday that he will be moving from his lifelong home in Albuquerque, N.M. to Henderson "in the next month or two."

Unser, 37, now drives in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series after winning 31 races and two championships from 1982 to 1999 in the CART FedEx Championship Series.

"I have purchased a house in Henderson and I'm going to be a Nevada resident probably in the next month or two," Unser said following a test session Tuesday at LVMS.

Unser said he chose Henderson because of the city's proximity to the race track and to Lake Mead.

"I chose (Henderson) because of the race track and racing here in the future," he said. "Growing up in the (New Mexico) desert, I really like it out here.

"Albuquerque really doesn't have a lake that's close to it and with Lake Mead just a few minutes down the road ... it's just beautiful country out here and Nevada has a lot to offer."

Unser will join fellow IRNLS driver Davey Hamilton, CART drivers Jimmy Vasser, Paul Tracy and Patrick Carpentier, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Kurt Busch, NCTS and NASCAR Winston West driver Brendan Gaughan and NHRA Pro Stock driver George Marnell in calling Southern Nevada home.

Unser was in Las Vegas Tuesday and today for a private test session in preparation for next weekend's Vegas Indy 300 IRNLS race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Unser and Galles ECR Racing team owner Rick Galles elected to skip this week's open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to test at LVMS.

"It was definitely to our advantage to be here instead of Indianapolis," Unser said. "This race is very, very critical in my mind ... because it's the race right before the Indy 500.

"We want to do well in this race so we can carry some momentum into the Indy 500."

Unser's track time was limited Tuesday because of a clutch problem in the morning, but got his G-Force/Aurora up to 203 mph in the afternoon after toying with some different race setups.

"We had a real good day," Galles said of Tuesday's session. "We made some big gains at the end and we feel real good about (today). We need to run 205, 206 (mph) at the end of the day (today) to feel good about where we are."