The Grand Prix of Long Beach has been a fixture on the NTT IndyCar series schedule for more than 40 years.
That makes it the second-longest running event in the series, behind only the Indianapolis 500, and its list of winners is a who’s who of some of the greatest open wheel drivers in the history of the sport.
But one name stands alone on the top of the winners’ list, and that’s Al Unser Jr., who conquered the streets of Long Beach six times, including four victories in a row from 1988-91.
The Unser name is most associated with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and for good reason. Between Al Sr. (4 wins), Bobby (3) and Al Jr. (2), the Unser family has been to Victory Lane at the Brickyard nine times. That’s far and away the most for one family, and a record that will probably stand forever.
They also have quite a legacy in Southern California, a place where IndyCar has competed at various tracks since the 1960s. Unser Jr. is also very proud to be part of that legacy.
“Long Beach is pretty special,” Unser Jr. told Frontstretch. “Next to the Indy 500, it was the premier race in IndyCar in my era. It always ranked as one of the top races of the season where you wanted to race and do well.
“Dad and my uncle had great success out at Ontario and I had success at Long Beach. I don’t know why, it was one of those tracks that we went to that whatever I did to the car it made the car quicker.”
Unser Jr., who has always been very politely humble, credits much of six wins on the streets of Long Beach to things just always going his way. In racing, that’s always true, but while he is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, his record on street or temporary courses is exceptional.
Of his 34 career wins, which ranks him ninth all-time in IndyCar history, 20 of them came on street or temporary courses, including places like Cleveland, the Meadowlands, Vancouver, Denver and Toronto.
“Street circuits just fit my style of racing,” he said. “The walls were the apexes and marked the edge of the track, so I thought I could be really precise and technical.”
In Unser’s era, the stars of Hollywood were also part of the show, and the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race was a popular event on the race weekend. While the celebrity participants took the race in various levels of seriousness, it was a big deal to the pro racers.
Unser Jr. won that event twice, but one year stands out above all the rest and makes…
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