Al Unser Jr. signing copies of his new book Dec. 4 at Indiana Historical Society's Holiday Author Fair
Have a racing fan in your life you need to buy a gift for around the holidays? Al Unser Jr. and author Jade Gurss will be at the Indiana Historical Society's 2021 Holiday Author Fair signing copies of their new book that details the legendary driver's tumultuous life on and off the track.
The book, 'Al Unser Jr.: A Checkered Past', was released in October and is a recounting of the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner's life from the man himself and written by Gurss. The book signing, the pair's first public appearance with each other since the book's release, will be 12-2 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Indiana Historical Society in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center (450 W Ohio St.) in Indianapolis.
Those interested in more details or reserving tickets can go to indianahistory.org, where they can also find the event's full author roster.
Unser. Jr. was born into the famous racing family that includes his father Al Unser Sr., a four-time Indy 500 winner and three-time series champ, and his late uncle Bobby Unser, who won the 500 three times to go with a pair of titles. The younger Unser made his IndyCar debut in 1982 at just 20 years old, and over an 11-year run from 1985-95, he finished in the top-3 in the championship race eight times.
Those final two seasons began an up-and-down six-year run with Team Penske that began with 12 wins, an Indy 500 victory and his second of two championships the first two years and ended with a four-year winless streak. Unser Jr. would race full-time in IndyCar until the end of 2003 and win three more times after he switched to the IRL in 2000. His final race was in the 2007 Indy 500 with A.J. Foyt Racing, when he finished 26th.
Off the track, he describes how substance abuse took over his life, describes his "long, slow fall from grace," losing millions of dollars and desperately trying to fill the void retiring from racing created in his life.
Email IndyStar motor sports reporter Nathan Brown at nlbrown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @By_NathanBrown.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Al Unser Jr., Jade Gurss to sign copies of new book at Holiday Author Fair
