Al Unser III is a great guy , good driver and should be marketable from the Unser name alone. But that hasn't been the case.

His racing resume lacks accomplishment after a 9 year career and at 25 years of age ; 26 in October.

The Barber Dodge Series , Toyota Atlantic's , Infinity Pro , Indy Pro , etc. shows average results and running less than full schedules.

The Playa Del Racing deal , begun in '07 , was his best opportunity to date while not well funded. Al brought Ethos Fuel Reformulator aboard as primary sponsor. Ethos recently bowed out preferring to position itself as a series associate sponsor in the future , Iam told.

Going into '08 with Playa Del Racing remained his sole opportunity and the team was positioned to run the full schedule. By May the Ethos committment was no longer in play.

After the Freedom 100 at Indy on May 24th , new owner Eric Zimmerman met with Al III and Al Jr. The message was simple - this would now become a paid ride. Bring your money or that of a sponsor to keep your seat ... this ride would now go to a well funded driver.

The Unser's brought nothing to the table , offered no solutions going into the future. Meeting adjourned. Enter Tony Turco. The rest is history.

Whether at the race shop or at the track , Al III began his day acknowledging every team member with a hand shake and a thank you.

Al's goal , like all Unser's , is to compete in and find victory in the Indianapolis 500. This will only be accomplished through a major sponsor buying a ride for Al on a great established team.

I wish Al III ( aka "mini Al" or "just Al" ) all the best !! :thumb