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Aedlotd, IB T4na-Mell Tear.e>r o 14.9811 au6 12. 1999 NNfIqN~IINiIII1111111IliiNlHll N2456 r+esscurrr.vcs Unser offering no apologies lssxfured Precr With his nen-irok ahaved head and that familiar pudgy fm, Al Unser Jr knks a hit like an aging mibnry recrvit. And mayhe thzi s appnrpriae- because the driver known as I.inle AI is going ha'k to the haeicv rmce the C'ART seasrm ends. I lc i in nctd nfa jMr. I lnur. whr hasn't won sinm 1'T)5, is nnt rctuming in HIIID tu the team of tLrger Penske. for v.hom he has driven for the last six scasons. ihe parting was amicahle. both men said. Still, there was undoubtedly .me pain. "Roger and Marlhom Team Penske and I have had great suc- cass cwer the Past few yeaz;" Unser siid. "Wlat can I say? He gavr me my semnd Indy 5(Ml win and my second CART.mries championship." Bnnhe )7-yearnld Unser is winlec in I I rm'rs this senun and his last 64 overall. His inp 1999 finish so far was fifth in Clevelard. That's quite a slide for the driver who won the series title in 1990 and 1994. But things have been dmwnhill since 1994, his first sea.snn with Penske-when he won a rettnd-tying eight times to match Michael Andreni s 1991 mn. "The lau three years, we jutt haven't been able to acfiieve suc- cess and maintain it," Unser said. He finisherl second in the Onts in 1995, when he had (nur of his 31 caner victories. But he makes no apologies for UNe dmught. "Basically, if racing was easy, everybody would be doing h," he said. Unser is part uf racing royalty. His fafKr. Ah is a two-fime series champion and four-time Indianapolis 500 sv{nrtec His unek. Bobby, is a thrxcame Indy winner. lhtrse were the glory days. Unser wanted to revive his raeer in CART this season. bm hopes of tMt were all but dashed on Ihe f,rn Iap of the frrst race of 1999. He also has pcvonal pmhlemv. His 12-yearuld daughter. Cody. ha.s been d1agnuad w'ith a mre spinal cmrditinn that has iaralyred her fmm riv> dre.i dir.n Unscr alur is in tlx fn:d few' nwmth> nf his nc,mage In IGv ehildhrxd sweetheart. Slrlley After limr d,ddren and a<tonna relaUOnchip. tlx Dn.rrs.vpamte•d aod legxn dir onr p"eeding> last winter. "My divorcc will he final in tktohvc" 17osvr vaid as hir new girlfriend. Gina, tiuenciI in the background at Thc Raeeway nn Belle I.de. 'I'll he able tn Inik a Int nrore a1,out my future after Ihat. "Right now, I'vc Ixcn advised by my Iawyers ,xa to say much." Because the Pe.nske npernGon ha hcen in dcchnc. Unser kncw 1 the final year of his crmuxt might end d,e relatkmship. So, he began ailking u, nthcr teams. Becnuse of his perumnl ~ problems, nothing has rkvelnped but Unrer has ren reached a i dead end. i "I Irave a stmng feeling I know where I'm headeJ "hc said. He insists remaining in CART is his fust choice. hm doesn't ~ discourage talk that he could move to the rival Inly Racing League. That would put him back in the Indianalvvlii 5IX1 - an IRL race since 1996-no small dcmil if vour name is Unser. '"fite possibility of hming thrce Unen in the IMianapohs SW in 2o0U is anexciting seenann" IRL spokesman Ron Gnxn said. HecrashedinHomesteadFla.,bmkeakgendmissedtlrcrext referring to Al's cousin.. IRL driven Robby and Johnny. two mm. "Adding Al to the lineup would be adlcd appeal to racing Fans." He's 17th in th standings after a 15t1r-place finish last Sunday But Little AI looks at it as more then a family matter, knowing in the Tenrreco Aummofive Grand Prix of Uetlnit But he nies to that a coatinued stalemate in the open-whed war is hurting his remain opimistk. cham.es to retmn. "As long as we keep rrying our best, everydung will hun out "The fndy 500 is the tndy 511t1:' he said, alrno.st with revererrce, far tJre beat;" Un2r said. "We're rlol krne ducks, by eny mea^s. "I'm not going to wait fordher ddvenjau to race u Indy." "f'mgaingmtrylikethedeviltogetftogerhulll(khvictory." Butthesplitcouldgoonforyeara-perhapstoumanyfor Racing and looking fa ajob arconly patt of Unser'a troubles. a CART-anchored Unser to again attack the old Brickyard. 64tiZL080Z