INDIANAPOLIS -- Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. will end a two-year retirement and drive at Indy for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. He'll also participate in Indy Racing League tests at the Speedway next month.
"The past is the past," Unser said on Tuesday. "There was a time there I wasn't loving what I was doing. Since I got out of the car, I've gotten into a real estate partnership, played some golf, picked up tennis, and it's just not doing it for me.
"The Indy 500 is my true love, so we're going to go back there," said the 43-year-old Unser, a member of one of the most famous families in U.S. auto racing.
Unser last raced in 2004, when he said he no longer had the passion to compete.
"You just know when it's time," he said then.
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| Al Unser Jr. won the Indy 500 in 1992 and 1994. (Getty Images) |
"As time went on, I was watching the races more and more," he said during an IRL teleconference. "It's in my blood. What can I say?"
Unser will team with 1996 Indy winner Buddy Lazier for Dreyer & Reinbold's two-car program at Indianapolis in May.
Among the 34 wins in his 22-year Indy-car career were the Indy 500 in 1992 and 1994. His father, Al Sr., won at Indianapolis four times and uncle Bobby won three times. Another uncle, Jerry, and cousins Johnny and Robby also drove at Indy.
Car owner Dennis Reinbold said he approached Unser several weeks ago after one of his crew members told him he heard Unser wanted to make a comeback.
"From our standpoint, we were working on putting things together for a second car anyway," Reinbold said. "I could see the sparkle in his eyes, so I knew he wanted to get back in a race car."
Unser, who also won the CART and IROC series championships and the 24 Hours of Daytona twice each, broke his pelvis in October 2003 in an all-terrain vehicle accident in New Mexico. After months of rehabilitation, he finally signed with Patrick Racing in March 2004 but missed the first three races of the season. In three IRL starts after that, his best finish was 11th.
He was 17th in his final race at Indianapolis in May 2004, his 17th start at Indy since his debut in 1983. The next month, he was the slowest qualifier and finished 22nd in his final race at Richmond.
