Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Unser likes driving stock cars, but he won’t switch

Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2002 | 9:10 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Al Unser Jr. admittedly was having the time of his life last weekend while driving in the International Race of Champions season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

But as much fun as he had wheeling the stock car around the 2.5-mile oval, the part-time Henderson resident made it clear his heart belongs to another 2.5-mile speedway.

"I love NASCAR, I love what they've done for myself and my family and I really enjoy driving the IROC series ... but my heart belongs at Indy," Unser said when asked if he would consider moving from open-wheel cars to stock cars. "Without Indy, I have a big hole in my chest.

"Over the years, I've had quite a few offers in NASCAR and I've thought long and hard about it. The (36-race) schedule doesn't bother me ... it's just the simple fact that my heart belongs, in the month of May, at Indy and I love driving those cars. The Indy 500 is where it's at."

Although Unser still is looking for a full-time ride in the Indy Racing League, he reportedly is close to signing with Kelley Racing in time for the IRL season opener March 3 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Unser made it clear that all of his options are in the Indy Racing League, not CART. The 39-year-old left CART after the 1999 season and spent the past two seasons in the IRL with Galles Racing. He was released from his contract with Galles during the off-season when team owner Rick Galles closed his operation.

Unser spent the winter getting back into shape with the help of a personal trainer and said he had lost between 30 and 35 pounds. Unser said he is in better shape now than he was when he won his second Indianapolis 500 in 1994.

"If anything, I'm stronger, I'm smarter, I'm better than I was three, four, 10 years ago," he said. "I haven't weighed this weight since I was 30 years old. Working out has really helped me. The best thing you can do for stress is exercise. I was taking Zantac and stuff for my stomach because it was in a knot from the stress. I started working out and I haven't taken a stomach pill since. The exercise does wonder for me, it clears your head."

It also has allowed Unser to gain a new perspective on his sometimes-stormy career -- including his four-year winless skid with CART's Penske Racing from 1996-1999.

"We went through some lean years and it was because of the tires I was running and the engine that I had in it -- it was nothing with me," Unser said. "I'm not going to be depressed; I went through a lot of ups and downs in my whole career and not winning races for that length of time, it was for other reasons.

"Maybe the good Lord wanted me to be humbled, I don't know, but it's definitely character building and I've had enough building of my character. We just need some good equipment and a whole team effort to win races."

Eddie Cheever Jr., Robbie Buhl, Laurent Redon, Tomas Scheckter, Scott Sharp, Buddy Lazier and Greg Ray also took part in the open test.

Buddy Lazier finished 10th in the 12-car field and Helio Castroneves was 11th.