Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Unser III gets chance to follow in father’s groove line

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 | 9:22 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 III, the son of a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and grandson of a four-time Indy winner, will return to the Toyota Atlantic Championship for the remainder of the 2005 season.

Unser, 22, competed in the first four events of the Indy Racing League Infiniti Pro Series this season, but will run the final 10 races of the Toyota Atlantic Championship for Brooks Associates Racing, beginning with this weekend's doubleheader at Portland International Raceway. The Toyota Atlantic Championship is the Champ Car World Series' top feeder series.

"The Toyota Atlantic series is definitely proven," Unser said. "We've had past champions come out of the Atlantic series and go win championships in Champ Car."

Unser's father, Al Unser Jr., competed in the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 1982 and went on to win championships in Champ Car (which was known as CART) in 1990 and 1994 as well as two Indianapolis 500 titles. Unser III's grandfather, Al Unser, won CART championships in 1983 and 1985 and is a four-time Indy 500 winner.

Unser III competed in four Toyota Atlantic Championship events in 2004, including three for Brooks Associates Racing. His best finish last season was an eighth-place effort at Montreal's Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

In four races this season in the Infiniti Pro Series, Unser posted three top-10 finishes, including consecutive fourth-place efforts at St. Petersburg, Fla., and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Unser said he is looking forward to competing at many of the Champ Car venues at which his father competed -- including Portland International Speedway, where Al Unser Jr. earned his first Champ Car victory in 1984.

"Getting back to all the Champ Car circuits definitely excites me a lot," Unser III said. "I love running on street courses and road courses and Portland is going to be a great race for us."

TEXAS RATINGS: ESPN's broadcast of Saturday night's IRL IndyCar Series race from Texas Motor Speedway drew a 1.0 cable rating and an estimated 1.3 million viewers -- a 150-percent increase from a year ago, according to the cable network.

The race, won by Tomas Scheckter, was the highest-rated and most-viewed IndyCar Series race in the network's history.

DANICA MANIA: Further evidence that Danica Patrick is the hottest driver in open-wheel racing: A portion of the damaged front wing from Patrick's Indianapolis 500 car, which Patrick autographed, recently sold for $42,650.01 on the eBay Internet auction site.

The wing, which was collected in Tomas Enge's sidepod when he and Patrick made contact on lap 154 of the Indy 500, was auctioned off to raise money for Panther Racing's charity, "Best Buddies Indiana." Rahal Letterman Racing, for whom Patrick drives, agreed to let Panther Racing auction the wing.

The winning bidder will be hosted by Rahal Letterman Racing at an upcoming Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race and will meet both Patrick and Enge.

OUTLAWS UPDATE: Tim Kaeding won his first World of Outlaws main event of the season Saturday night at Sheboygan County Fair Park in Plymouth, Wisc.

Outlaws points leader Steve Kinser finished second and holds a 269-point lead over Craig Dollansky in the standings.