Q 13

PLAYBOY: What does the word speed mean to you?

Al Unser, Jr.: The only time I've ever felt I was going too fast was when I was sliding sideways at the Michigan 500 in '84--200 mph. I was looking out the window, so to speak, and I was totally out of control. When you're driving well, however, things come up in slow motion; you're ahead of the car. That's when a race driver is an artist. He's playing an instrument, and it's a very slow, smooth song. Gentle is another word I'd use for it, because when you make the car work for you, the two of you come together and work as one. However, an Indy car will bite you faster than any other race car. You're working with 700-plus horsepower that comes on with a bang, and it'll just whammo you into the fence--and I mean instantly.

Q 14

PLAYBOY: Then explain your love for that car.

Al Unser, Jr.: It's the challenge of not letting it bite you. An Indy car is a "he" that will flatten your ass as fast as you can sit in it. Speed is not why I race. The attraction of an Indy car is that it places such a demand on your judgment and skill. Even before I get into one of those things, I'll always pause to think, and I never go fast the first hour of a practice session. I'll build up to it every time, because the cars demand real respect.

Q 15

PLAYBOY: Could an average person get into one and drive it around the Indy Speed way, even with an empty track and the discipline to go slowly?

Al Unser, Jr.: He'd have a hard time just getting it out of the pit without stalling the engine. But otherwise, it's going to scare him, the average guy who's telling himself, "Well, let's see what this thing will do." He'd be in the fence with a broken leg, fast. Trying to hook up that 700-odd horsepower, he'd bust the rear tires loose, and whammo. You've got to respect these cars to the point where you're thinking, If I don't do it right, I die.

Q 16

PLAYBOY: And so, leaving aside goals of national championships, money and fame, you couldn't be just as happy exploring your limits in a Corvette, say, at 125 mph?

Al Unser, Jr.: No. Because you need the threat, and 125 mph is no big thing for me. Rutherford tells a story about a friend asking him to drive his new 308 Ferrari: The guy's just plunked down 50 or 60 grand, he's in awe of the car, Johnny gets in and takes it to the limit, they come back and get out, and all Johnny says is, "Nice car." It was no big deal for him, see, and the same applies here: The challenge is going past the limit and being able to survive.

Q 17

PLAYBOY: Do everyday drivers scare you?

Al Unser, Sr.: I'm more comfortable on a race track than on the street. For most people, driving is just a way of getting from point A to point B, and they don't realize what their machine can do. After an accident, they'll inevitably turn around and say, "Gee, I didn't know these things hit so hard."

Al Unser, Jr.: Besides, you don't know what they're thinking or doing. Not to mention those people who drive listening to their Walkmans; they can't hear an ambulance or a fire truck, let alone something going wrong with their own car. Sure they scare me. Their reaction in an emergency is often very, very bad.

Q 18

PLAYBOY: Do you always buckle up, even when you're driving around the corner? The truth now.

Al Unser, Sr.: I endorse seat belts 200 percent. I won't let anybody ride in my car unless he buckles up. Why? Because you wouldn't dream of driving a race car without fastening your belts, so if anything, there's even more reason to use them on the street.

Al Unser, Jr.: I'm not sure about air bags, because they're new and unproved, but I've had some bad, bad crashes, and if it weren't for seat belts, I wouldn't be here today. Like Al says, it's inconceivable to get into a race car and not buckle up.

Q 19

PLAYBOY: How much do you dislike being a passenger? And when it's just the two of you, who drives?

Al Unser, Jr.: If it's Dad's car, he drives; if it's mine, I do. But, yes, I'm nervous about being a passenger. Usually, I'll live with it until whoever is driving starts doing things I don't like; then I'll flat-out say something.

Q 20

PLAYBOY: The latest addition to the Unser clan is three-year-old Al III, dubbed Mini Al. Is he being programed to be a race driver, too? Wouldn't you like to have an accountant, an architect, something other than another racer in the family?

Al Unser, Jr.: I don't want to say programed. He's already got a go-cart, and I'm going to go through the same motions Dad put me through; but if he doesn't want it, then I'll tell him the same thing I was told: "Whatever you do, do it the best you can." I'll be damned if my boy's going to be a bum on the street. The O'Neal family, Ryan and his boy; Paul Newman's son dying of a drug overdose; the Kennedy kids--that's heavy family pressure. There is no family pressure in this family.