0.043-Second Miss Is as Good as a Mile : As Unser Becomes Part of a Legacy, Goodyear Has to Be Satisfied With a Role in History

As long as there is racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the names of Al Unser Jr. and Scott Goodyear will be linked by their time-capsule finish in last year’s Indy 500.

For the first time in 76 years, two cars were side by side after 500 miles when Unser swept across the row of bricks at the finish line, taking the checkered flag only 0.043 seconds ahead of the little-known Canadian driver.

For Unser, it was more a continuation of a legacy at Indianapolis than an individual achievement. He’s an Unser. His father won four times. His uncle Bobby won three times. Wasn’t it inevitable that Junior would win?

“I would say the biggest thing for me was that winning sort of put me up there with my dad and Uncle Bobby,” Unser said. “Instead of being the son of four-time winner Al Unser, now I stand by myself as Al Unser Jr., winner of the Indianapolis 500. As far as changing my life, I don’t think it did because I’d been in the middle of all the excitement before when my dad and Bobby won.

“I’ll admit, I had my doubts after ’89. I came so close and didn’t get it done that time. I know there’s been drivers race their whole life (and) couldn’t get it done. It definitely took winning to prove it to myself.”

In 1989, Unser spun out on the final lap after tangling with Emerson Fittipaldi, who won.

Goodyear said last year’s near miss was the most crushing moment of his life. It wasn’t until September, four months later, that he realized his part in history.

“I knew when the car rolled over the bricks--you can feel them, you know it’s the finish, you don’t have to look at the tower--that I had failed,” Goodyear said. “I called Derrick (car owner Derrick Walker) and said, ‘I didn’t get him.’

“The next 2 1/2 miles around the track were the longest and loneliest of my life. I felt I had failed. As a driver, I had not accomplished what I set out to do, and it was so close, I felt I should have done better. Frankly, I was crushed.”

In 1982, Goodyear watched the race from the stands when Gordon Johncock held off Rick Mears, winning by 0.16 of a second in what was then the closest Indy finish in history.

“As far as I was concerned, I had witnessed one of the great moments of sport,” Goodyear said. “It was a day I knew I would never forget. But after my race, it never entered my mind that I had been in a similar circumstance. It wasn’t until September when I was sitting at home and it hit me. ‘Hey, I was in one myself,’ I realized.

“What surprised me most, I think, was the reaction in Canada. I thought I had let them down, but you would have thought I had won the thing. I was up till 11:30 the night of the race, being interviewed on radio talk shows, and the first thing Monday morning I was on a TV interview from Toronto.

“Tuesday morning, when our private plane landed in Toronto, the press was there waiting for me and I was escorted to a reception with the mayor. It was a neat feeling, but the drawback was that every time I was interviewed, I had to watch replays of those last laps so many times it wore me out.”

Unser, curiously, has probably had less attention than Goodyear.

“About the only difference, I think, is that winning Indy never goes away the way it does when you win other races,” Unser said. “When I win at Long Beach, even when I win as many times as I have (four in a row, 1988-91), it’s forgotten by the next race. When you win Indy, it’s never forgotten.

“The things I remember most are about my family. When we got in the pace car and were headed out pit lane after the race, I finally saw my dad for the first time, and I had never seen his arms opened so big to give me a hug and it was great. It was one of those gifts that I don’t think very many people get a chance to see out of their fathers.

“Then, with Uncle Bobby, it was the first time I had ever seen his eyes water. I’d never seen him so emotional before, even if it was only for a brief moment. Uncle Bobby was really, really nice to me for about two weeks, and then it was all back to normal again.”

Both Unser and Goodyear say they never sat down and watched reruns of the race until last week, when they watched the last 15 laps together.

“The difference (between winning and losing) was the pass Al made on me on Lap 188 when he got by me in traffic,” Goodyear said. “Michael (Andretti) had the race won then, and we were running for second place. Then, on the next lap, Michael stopped and suddenly Al and I were going for the win.

“I remember how we fought those last few laps, and it was the same on film. I think both us had some tears well in our eyes when we watched it. It seemed as if my car was working better in Turns 3 and 4, and his was better in 1 and 2. It was like an accordion. I would gain maybe 20 feet on him at the north end, and then he’d get the 20 feet back on the south end.”

Unser says the only time he is reminded of the finish is when he sees the commercial on television for Valvoline, his primary sponsor.

“It gives me a tug, a little, every time I see it,” he said. “But what it does, too, is remind me of how close it was. If I get in that position again, I don’t want it to be that close, that’s for sure.”

Goodyear, on the other hand, has one of the posters of the finish on the wall in his home in Toronto. It is upside down.

“People look at it and say, ‘Scott, it’s upside down,’ and I say, ‘I know it. I like it better that way. my car’s in front.”’

Goodyear says a similar finish probably couldn’t happen this year because of the changes in the track.

“With today’s configuration, which eliminates the apron down low in the corners, I could never have stayed with Al,” he said. “I ran down low every chance I had, and now that line has been taken away with the rumble strips and the grass divider (between the track and the warm-up lane).

“Passing is going to be so difficult, even when trying to get by much slower cars, that I doubt if anyone could come from all the way back in the field again. Last year, you could close in on a car and then use the apron if you wanted to pass. Obviously, you can’t do that now. You have to stay tucked in behind the car in front of you, and that means running in dirty air. It’s going to be quite a different race.”

In one of Indy’s little ironies, Unser and Goodyear will start side by side on the second row Sunday--only this time Goodyear is ahead. The difference is almost identical to last year’s. Goodyear’s qualifying time for four laps, or 10 miles, was 0.041 of a second quicker than Unser’s. Last year, Unser’s victory margin was 0.043 for 200 laps, or 500 miles.