Monday, March 22, 2004 | 9:35 a.m.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Henderson resident Al Unser Jr. has signed with former CART team owner Pat Patrick to drive in the Indy Racing League beginning with the May 30 Indianapolis 500.
Unser, 41, has been out of racing since his contract with the IRL's Kelley Racing was not renewed after the 2003 season. Unser will drive a Chevrolet-powered Dallara chassis this season for Patrick Racing.
Patrick helped found CART in 1978 and fielded cars for drivers such as Mario Andretti, Gordon Johncock, Emerson Fittipaldi, Danny Sullivan and Las Vegas resident Jimmy Vasser. Patrick has three Indianapolis 500 victories as a car owner -- with Johncock in 1973 and 1982 and Fittipaldi in 1989.
"I've raced against the (number) 20 car pretty much my whole career," Unser said, referring to Patrick Racing's familiar car number. "Now I'm very proud to be driving the 20 car for Pat.
"I'm happy to be in a Chevrolet engine; I won my first (Indianapolis) 500 in a Chevrolet engine."
Patrick said he still was finalizing sponsorship for the car, which he said he would enter in the final 13 races of the season.
"I am very excited about competing at the Indianapolis 500 again and in the IRL IndyCar Series," Patrick said "We are still seeking a title sponsor but with the support of Chevrolet, I intend to help finance and field a team that can compete for victories at every race we contest.
"We have a very competitive car with Chevrolet power, a Dallara chassis and, of course, Firestone tires and Al Unser Jr. is a proven winner."
Unser, who left CART for the IRL following the 1999 season, has three victories in four seasons in the IRL -- including last year's IndyCar Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Unser, who had 31 victories while in CART, also won the 2000 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Drivers David Murry of Cumming, Ga., and Craig Stanton of Long Beach, Calif., piloted the team's Westward Ho Casino Porsche 911 GT3 RS at Sebring International Raceway in Florida. The team, which is owned by Las Vegas businessman Mike Petersen and managed by longtime local racer Dale White, was the only entry in the GT class that competed with two drivers instead of three.
Stanton and Murry fell behind early in the race after a pit violation penalty and had to hold off a hard-charging Flying Lizard Racing Porsche in the final hour of the race. Murray, who drove the final segment of the race, held off the Flying Lizards team by 26 seconds.
"That was the hardest finishing third place we've ever had in our career," Petersen said. "Towards the end, we had some trouble with the brakes and had to conserve fuel. The end was definitely some of the most nerve-wracking two hours of any race we have ever done.
"I think it was the right decision to go with two drivers; it wasn't an advantage and it wasn't a disadvantage. The team did an awesome job and Craig and David are a great asset to this race team."
Alex Job Racing took the top two spots in the GT class, with German drivers Timo Bernhard, Jorg Bergmeister and Sascha Maassen claiming the team's fourth straight Sebring victory.
Schmidt is a resident of Henderson and a former race winner in the Indy Racing League.
Medeiros started the 100-lap race from the pole, led every lap and eventually lapped the field en route to his second career victory. Medeiros became the first driver in the three-year history of the series to win a race by a lap or more.
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