Unser Jr. arrested

MountaineerTom · July 11, 2002

From rpm.espn.com

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Al Unser Jr., who had worked to put a racing slump and troubled personal life behind him, is accused by a girlfriend of hitting her after they left a strip club.

Jena L. Soto, 38, of Albuquerque, N.M, told police Unser struck her early Tuesday while she was driving him home because he was drunk. She accused him of hitting her in the face and leaving her on the side of a highway in the middle of the night.

The report dismayed Unser's uncle, Bobby, who said his nephew, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, was having a positive year after some personal and professional struggles.

''He lost a lot of weight and seemed to be going good,'' Bobby said. ''He turned this year into a good year.''

Unser, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1992 and 1994, posted a $30,000 bond on preliminary misdemeanor charges of domestic battery and domestic violence. He avoided reporters when he left the Marion County jail and could not be reached for comment.

Soto told police she hit Unser first to stop him from trying to shift the gears of the car, and that Unser responded by hitting her in the face. She also told police she pulled to the side of the highway after Unser hit her, got out of the vehicle, and that Unser then drove away.

She was found standing next to a guardrail on Interstate 465, which rings the city, at about 3:30 a.m.

Bobby Unser, a three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and brother of Al Unser Sr., a four-time Indy winner, said Soto was a stripper who met his nephew in Las Vegas.

He said her accusations seemed out of character for his nephew, but added that he had spoken to Al Jr. about his behavior off the track.

''I support him, but I don't support him for doing some of these things,'' Bobby said. ''He needs to get his life straightened out.''

The two-time CART champion's problem's began in 1995 when he failed to qualify after winning the Indianapolis 500 a year earlier. He later parted with team owner Roger Penske; divorced his first wife, Shelly; was overweight; and in 1999 his then-12-year-old daughter, Cody, was paralyzed from the chest down by a rare nerve disease.

Unser's career seemed to be on the rebound, however. He moved to Galles Racing in the IRL in 2000, and won in Las Vegas -- in just his third start -- to break a five-year victory drought.

Last year, Unser added a victory in Madison, Ill. He is sixth in IRL points this season, his first with Kelley racing, after finishing seventh last year and ninth in 2000.

The 40-year-old driver from Albuquerque was arrested Tuesday at his motor home on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield. A hearing is scheduled for July 19, sheriff's Col. Scott Minier said.

The preliminary charges against Unser are each punishable by up to a year in jail. The Marion County prosecutor's office will determine whether to file formal charges after a review, Minier said.

Team owner Tom Kelley said Unser had ''the unqualified support of everyone at Kelley Racing.''

Repeated telephone messages left for Unser's attorney, James Voyles, were not returned. Soto could not be reached for comment.

Unser first denied knowing Soto, police said. After being told of her accusations, Unser told police Soto had hit him first.

Unser was to play in a charity golf tournament Thursday at the speedway's course and then drive Saturday in an IROC race at Chicagoland Speedway, said Kelley Racing spokeswoman Nancy Miller.

IRL spokesman Ron Green said Unser could face suspension or other penalties if convicted, but said it was too early to determine if the league would take action.

''He's one of the most respected drivers and still one of the most popular drivers in all of motorsports,'' Green said.

MountaineerTom · July 11, 2002

...and,

Arrest not first incident

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The long, sad slide of Al Unser Jr. finally became public knowledge last Tuesday morning when he was arrested on preliminary misdemeanor charges of domestic battery and domestic violence resulting from an alleged altercation with his girlfriend after the two left a local strip club.

To his family, close friends and people on the inside of the open-wheel community, this wasn't surprising or shocking news.

Many of us have been aware of Unser's behavior the past several years. But we've either failed to pursue the stories, been discouraged for lack of cooperation, made excuses or looked the other way.

"We're all guilty of being in denial," said Bobby Unser, Junior's uncle and the patriarch of the Unser family, on Tuesday. "Al's had problems for some time now and none of us have done anything about it.

"He needs help, but he won't get any."

Steve Schweissgut said he saw those problems first hand in 1998 and 1999 when he spent a significant amount of time with Unser as his motorcoach driver.

"Al did a lot of pot, cocaine, Jack Daniels and, after he met his latest girlfriend (Jena Soto), he got on cranberry juice and vodka," said Schweissgut, a native of Toronto who befriended Unser in the early '90s. "It was always the same pattern. He would drink, do drugs and then be clean on race weekend.

"He hid it real well and he could lie through his teeth."

Schweissgut, who now works for General Motors in Toronto, said Unser would be his most violent when he was drinking.

"He'd get really mean and nasty on Jack and you just couldn't reason with him."

In the spring of 1999, following a track test session at Sebring, Fla., Schweissgut and Unser went to Orlando and checked into the Peabody Hotel.

"Al started smoking pot, he called it 'Johnny' and he was mixing it with liquor," recalled Schweissgut. "Then he emptied his mini-bar and my mini-bar and locked me out of his side of the suite and climbed out on the balcony and said he was going to jump.

"I called his sister (Mary) and Shelley (Unser), and he was calling Mary and he was out of control. This went on until the wee hours and he was out of control."

Bobby Unser said Wednesday night he was aware that his nephew's problems were drugs and alcohol. "Oh yeah, it was no secret," said the three-time Indy winner.

Rumors about Unser's drug and alcohol abuse have been swirling since 1995 and I asked him about them in 1997 at Toronto. His response was: "I've always smoked and had a few beers and my lifestyle hasn't changed since I was a rookie and it won't. I've never endangered myself or anybody else and I've never been put on probation for anything. Because I drive for the top owner in Indy-car racing (Roger Penske at the time) and one of the best sponsors (Marlboro), if there was a problem with me, I'd be gone. I'd be fired."

In 1998, CART chairman/CEO Andrew Craig and Penske confronted Unser about drug use and he denied it. After running away with the 1994 CART crown, Unser won four more races in '95 before going winless during his final four years (1996-99) with Team Penske. He was terminated by Penske at the end of the '99 season.

Unser's lawyer said Tuesday that the driver will not have any comment on this week's arrest.

Unser's violent streak has been felt most by his family. Ex-wife Shelley Unser filed a restraining order after alleged physical abuse toward her. It's also been said that his four children would become scared when Al Jr. had too much to drink.

Last July, there was a police report filed in Albuquerque, N.M., by Shannon Unser, wife of Bobby Unser Jr., alleging that Al, during a phone conversation, threatened to kill her. Tuesday evening, Bobby Unser Jr. confirmed the incident, stating it was "sad but true." Ironically, Shannon and Bobby have been helping Shelley Unser care for Al's four children.

Just this May, there was an incident involving drinking, driving and Unser near the gates of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. One of the IMS guards called me shortly after it happened and gave an eyewitness account -- explaining that Big Al and Tony George had intervened and escorted Junior to his motorhome in the IMS infield. But there was no police report.

In 1999, when I still worked at The Indianapolis Star, I met with Al Unser and Bobby Unser (separately) about the growing number of reports and rumors. Big Al said he thought his son probably drank a little too much but had no drug problems, while Bobby painted a much darker picture.

I suggested writing a story, using their quotes, and presenting it to Junior after the last CART race of the year. I would tell him that if he didn't seek treatment within 30 days, I would publish the story. Al Unser asked me why I would be willing to do that, and I said because I respected his son's accomplishments and their family's history and it seemed obvious that help was needed.

Well, Greg Moore lost his life in the CART finale at Fontana, Calif., and I never delivered that story to Unser Jr.

So here it is today, in an updated version.

Hopefully, all the adverse publicity can force Junior to take some responsibility and his supposed friends like Tony George will do the right thing and get the two-time Indy winner into a clinic.

George, who had his own documented cocaine problems in the early '80s, would seem to be his best hope.

Junior can't depend on relatives because the entire Unser clan is in turmoil. Big Al and Bobby still live across the street from each other but no longer speak. Ditto for Bobby Jr. and Al Jr., who grew up together and were like brothers before things got ugly.

"Al (Jr.) and I haven't talked in years. And it's sad, because we used to be like brothers," said Bobby Unser Jr.

It's a sad story because Al Unser Jr. had it all 10 years ago.

That freckled-faced kid who drove with such maturity and charmed everyone with his aw-shucks personality has become a lost soul of 40 whose past glories can't mask his current condition. Or the lines on his weathered face.

Little Al has become a big disappointment.

He's been protected by his name and celebrity for way too long, so maybe this can jar him back to reality. Or at least get him on the road to recovery.

Al Unser Sr. said Tuesday he had "no indication" there was anything awry with his namesake. "When I started working for Al Jr., Al Sr. asked me to keep an eye on him so I know he was concerned," said Schweissgut.

But it's time father and son faced up to the truth.

Al Unser Jr. doesn't have a home anymore. He simply lives in Denial.

MarkD · July 11, 2002

I am not making excuses for the guy, but it sounds like he lost his innocent till proven guilty status.

Hitting a woman is wrong.

It just sounds a little fishy to me. To paraphrase through another set of eyes...

He picked up a stripper who drove him home because he was drunk. She hadn't been drinking? He was cutting up with her as she drove home, shifting the gears and such. Well it is his car, maybe she should have called him a cab instead of driving him home. She hit him, she admitted it. She says he hit her back, in the face. Did he really hit her? How hard? It sounds like it pissed her off more than it hurt her if he did hit her. She stopped the car and got out. At which point he was supposed to beg her to get back into the car until she did. Well, he didn't. He said, " fine! walk then!" and drove home. Boy was she mad when she got home, how bad can she make this sound?

I am not saying that this is what happened, but it easily could have been. These days, a woman can say "assault", "rape", "sexual harrassment", and the man is automatically guilty. He could serve YEARS in prison because of it.

Again, I AM NOT TRYING TO SAY THAT HE SHOULD GET AWAY WITH BEATING A WOMAN, THAT IS WRONG. I just know how the system can be "played", especially with someone in his position. I'm betting she is looking for a cash settlement to drop the charges.