Immortals Pee?!
I recently presented at the Driving School of America’s conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As part of my involvement the organizers graciously invited me to attend the conference dinner. Normally, I am not a big fan of conference dinners because there is a lot of time spent just sitting at a table and listening to people tell me about their job, research goals, or family life. Don’t get me wrong, I very much like to talk with people about this stuff, it can be energizing at times, but not at the end of a long day when I would prefer to hang out with friends and relax. However, this dinner could be different…this dinner was to be held at the Unser Racing Museum. This was a chance to kill two proverbial birds with a single stone. I love car museums and I heard from Albuquerque-based vintage racers that one of the Unser’s are usually at the museum to greet guests, so this was also a chance to visit a new museum and also meet racing royalty.
The two busloads of conference attendees were to arrive at 6:30 so I stealthily arrived at 6:10 to talk with the staff and to meet any royalty that might be present without said royalty being distracted by 60 other people. As I walked through the front door I was greeted by wonderfully friendly staff who literally exclaimed “Welcome to the Museum, we are glad you are here!!!” It was welcoming from the moment I walked into the museum.
The woman at the door asked if I wanted to meet with Al Unser Sr. and, of course without a moment’s hesitation, I exclaimed in return “Yes!!!” Al Unser is a four-time Indianapolis 500 race winner and that alone gives the man significant “street cred” in my book and just about any other racing fan, but Mr. Unser is so much more as his race history is long and filled with many race wins, trophies, ribbons, etc. I remember seeing him on TV winning Indy 500 races, my dad had signed Mr. Unser photos from back in the day, and, well, I just respected him. He is racing royalty to me. Well, no, that’s not quite true. With everything that he has accomplished he is a racing immortal…like Zeus or Hercules…but only better. He will be recognized for a very long time because of his amazing accomplishments.
The woman at the entrance led me over and introduced us. God-Unser, who he is now known as, is starting to show his age because of all those years of being shoe-horned into race cars and leaning into engine compartments. He has a full head of gray hair, big bushy eye-brows, and a slightly awkward walk…but you can still recognize his calm and happy eyes. He looks like a quintessential grandfather. I introduced myself and he replied in a joyful voice “Very glad to meet you, I’m Al Unser.” As if I was a fourteen-year-old kid I blurted out “You are a legend to me, sir!”
I was embarrassed to let him know I placed him on such a high pedestal but then I thought that I was unlikely the first to do so and likely not the last. We spent the next few minutes talking about racing, race tracks (e.g., Road America…I had raced Road America for nearly 15 years), and his family. I liked him all the more due to his approachable nature…he was more than a simple God…he was a high God.
Then the conversation between an immortal and a mere mortal was crashed when the two bus-loads of conference attendees walked through the door. “Ahh shit” I said to myself. To my chagrin, the wonderfully friendly staff asked the mob if they wanted to meet Al Unser and I knew our time was up. I thanked him for his time and wished him a good evening. Although our time was short, it was very special to me…I was able to interact with this God and was able to verify that he truly deserved that title.
The Unser Museum is a wonderful place that captures key moments and key machines in racing history relative to the Unser family. As you walk through the front doors you are faced with the all too common gift shop but you can see directly to a bright yellow Indy car on a revolving table. This is not a run of the mill car but the 1987 Indy car in which Al Unser won his fourth Indy 500 race. From there you are treated to a variety of legends cars, a pink NASCAR car, and a few other notables. The Johnny Lightning 1970 Indy 500 winning car was absolutely spectacular as was the 1962 Novi. The 1968 Indy 500 winning car of Bobby Unser was on display. I have to admit that I think I drooled on that car a bit…it is absolutely gorgeous…the paint, the attention to detail…everything. It looks like it could be raced today if I could only sneak it out the back of the museum. If I could drive one car in the museum this would be it.
The 1987 Indy car in which Al Unser won his fourth Indy 500 race.
The Johnny Lightning 1970 Indy 500 winning car.
1968 Indy 500 winning car of Bobby Unser.
Later in the evening the mob was then escorted to a second building located behind the first. This appeared to be the main office building but the first floor was dedicated to additional cars. There we found among other things a 1986 Indy car driven by Michael Andretti, a 1991 Uno Lola-Chevrolet Indy car driven by Arie Luyendyk, and a variety of classic cars and trucks.
Perhaps the most special thing to see besides the magnificent cars was the large glass-walled room that holds an amazing array of the Unser family racing memorabilia including hundreds of trophies, dozens of championship rings, many racing suites, and more. The breadth of the collection was breathtaking. It is here, looking at all those awards, that we are able to get a full appreciation of the scale of the Unser family racing accomplishments. It is here that one realizes the Unser family was a racing dynasty through their decades long accomplishments.
A small selection of Unser family awards.
The mob then returned to the first building and it was here that I was truly stunned. While the conference participants were distracted by mediocre catered food I saw God-Unser walk into the restroom. I was speechless. This seemingly simple act, performed by all mortals, was performed by God-Unser. Gods don’t pee!!! Particularly high Gods!!! I had to recalibrate my mental model of the world.
So God-Unser may not have been a God but a mere mortal who ascended to God-like status. I smiled a bit because it reminded me that everyone has the capability to ascend to this status in their own areas of life. The conference attendees didn’t even notice that they were ascending to this status through their work in driver education…helping new drivers drive safe.
A map and Piston Vista ratings can be found at the Piston Vista Unser Racing Museum page.