Al Unser Jr., on the eve of his 63rd birthday, is in the winter of his life.

But his legacy, as one of the nation’s greatest race car drivers, is enjoying a second spring — a rebirth of sorts.

Unser Jr.’s life, its triumphs and travails, have been well-documented: Scion of a blue blood racing family. A motor sports pariah.

The “King of the Beach.” A prisoner of his own addiction.

An icon. A ghost of his own making.

But in recent years, Unser Jr. — a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the Grand Prix of Long Beach record holder — has rebuilt his life, largely through his Christian faith, the love of his wife and the unwavering support of his mother. And he has, slowly, been welcomed back into the racing world that was once his dominion.

And when the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach roars through the city’s downtown this weekend, celebrating its milestone 50th anniversary, Unser Jr. will once again take center stage as racing royalty. He, along with former King of the Beach Mario Andretti, will be co-grand marshals.

“Getting this grand marshal award, it’s awesome,” Unser Jr. said in a recent phone interview from his Indiana home. “It’s going to be awesome to have my mom there. As soon as I told her, she told me it just totally made her day.”

Unser Jr., nicknamed “Little Al,” was born into the racing world, with his father and uncle, in particular, racing legends in their own right. But Unser Jr. is not in the shadow of his elders. He had an impressive racing career, winning the Indianapolis 500 and the CART Championships twice each.

He claimed the 24 Hours of Daytona race in 1986 and 1987 and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 1983.

And his six Grand Prix of Long Beach wins came in a span of eight years — including four straight from 1988 to 1991. He also went back-to-back in Long Beach in 1994 and ‘95.

“I love Long Beach,” Unser Jr. told me when I first interviewed him for a story ahead of the 2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach. “I have lots of favorite memories from there. No matter what I did in practice to change the car and make it better, we always did the right thing and won.”

Based on the combined accolades of his father and his uncle, though, it would seem as if there are plenty of places the Unser family has loved over the generations. Al Unser Sr., Unser Jr. and Bobby Unser won a combined 108 open-wheel races.

“The Unser name,” Tim Matthews, the curator of the Museum of American Speed, wrote in a recent email, “is one of the greatest names in racing history.”

And in Long Beach, the Unser name stands alone — though there is some competition on that front.

That competition comes from the only family more well-known in the sport than the Unsers:

The Andrettis.

A motorsports rivalry

Blood-feud rivalries are a tradition in sports: Ali and Frasier. Bird and Magic. Connors and McEnroe. Dodgers and Giants.

And Unser Jr. and Mario Andretti.

While the competition between the two racing legends never boiled over into outright animosity the way some other famous rivalries, there were still some legendary encounters.

And it all began in Long Beach.

In 1989, Andretti was still the undisputed King of the Beach. He had won a then-record four Grand Prix of Long Beach races, including three of four from 1984 to 1987, with his son, Michael Andretti, winning the other during that streak.

But Unser Jr. was coming for him.

The year before, in 1988, Unser Jr. claimed his first Grand Prix of Long Beach. In 1989, he was looking to go back-to back, while the elder Andretti was trying to get back on top.

But during that race, Unser Jr. ran into the back of Andretti’s car, causing him to spin out. It was an accident, Unser Jr. said. Regardless of intention, though, that crash paved the way for Unser Jr. to claim his second title there.

Unser Jr. would win the next two Long Beach races as well. The elder Andretti would never climb the podium again.

“I was so upset with myself,” Unser Jr. said in one of our previous interviews. “I had a lack of patience. I was being too aggressive, and I made a huge mistake by running into the back of him.”

Neither Unser Jr. nor Andretti is keen about discussing any fallout from the ‘88 race. And, by all accounts, the relationship is friendly.

But that wasn’t the only run-in between the Andrettis and Unsers.

Take, for example, the 1981 Indy 500 — the most debated car race in history.

Once again, Mario Andretti was involved. But this time, rather than Unser Jr., the conflict was with Bobby Unser.

Bobby Unser initially took the checkered flag, with Andretti coming in second place. But afterward, race officials ruled Bobby Unser had illegally passed cars during a caution — and handed the title to Andretti.

Protests and appeals followed.

Finally, once the dust had settled, Bobby Unser’s penalty was removed and he was declared the winner after all.

Unser Jr. described that controversy as resulting in a “big feud.”

But the duo — just like Andretti and Unser Jr. seven years later — were apparently able to move on.

“During the last couple years of my Uncle Bobby’s life,” Unser Jr. said, alluding to his uncle’s 2021 death at 87 years old, “he would come back to the 500, and I’ve watched him and Mario just laugh it up and tell jokes and stories.

“They were the best of friends and that’s the way it is.”

Mario Andretti, in a recent interview, also said the two blue-blood families are friends — at least off the track. On it, their competitive spirits were clear. Andretti suggested as much with a good-spirited jab over which family truly owns Long Beach, noting that if you had his and his son’s titles, they match Unser Jr.’s.

“When we were in a racetrack, we tried to kill each other and then (we’d) have a beer later,” the elder Andretti said. “But that was all good. I think it was a good, solid competition. Great respect for one another.

Unser Jr. and Andretti, the former said, last saw each other last year during the Indy 500, where past winners complete a parade lap on the morning of the race.

The pair will come together once more on Sunday when they serve as co-grand marshals for the race they once dominated.

For Unser Jr., that moment, in a way, will represent the culmination of his motorsports rebirth — which has been years in the making.

And which followed years in the proverbial wilderness.

The winter of addiction

Unser Jr. has struggled with addiction most of his life.

The future King of the Beach first tried marijuana before he was even a teenager, a habit that continued throughout his time in high school.

He then moved onto cocaine, and consumed alcohol in excess. Both habits continued plaguing him even as his career took off.

By 1995 — years into his reign as King of the Beach, and with several championships under his belt —Unser Jr. ‘s addictions had gotten so severe that his loved ones started to plan an intervention.

But after his sixth win in Long Beach that same year, the intervention was called off, and Unser Jr. began a quarter-century-long spiral fueled by his alcohol addiction.

After divorcing his first wife, remarrying a month later and becoming estranged from his children, Unser Jr. retired from racing in 2004.

Unser Jr., in his 2021 memoir, “Al Unser Jr.: A Checkered Past,” described the years that followed as a “private hell.” It was undoubtedly the winter of his life, at least emotionally and professionally — as many in the motor sports world shunned him.

He pleaded no contest to a driving-under-the-influence charge related to a January 2007 car crash. Another charge came in 2011, this time for drunken and reckless driving, after Albuquerque, New Mexico, authorities caught him drag racing at speeds greater than 100 mph.

Unser Jr. spent years in and out of rehab centers. He also tried his hand at Alcoholics Anonymous.

But it wasn’t until after a third DUI charge, in 2019, that Unser Jr. started recovering from his addiction — at last.

“I’ve had several rock bottoms,” Unser Jr. said in a previous interview. “All my DUIs were famous; the May 19 incident in Indianapolis, that was the end of it.”

The consequences of his addiction unfolded along twin tracks — or, if you will, circuits.

The first is the professional circuit.

Despite his myriad successes, there are some who wonder what could have been had Unser Jr. remained sober throughout his career.

One of those is Tom Malloy, whose Southern California Malloy Foundation Collection Museum has an array of iconic vehicles, including the top three from the now-infamous 1981 Indy 500. has the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place cars from that 1981 race.

“He was an unbelievable driver,” Malloy said recently. “Unfortunately, alcohol got in the way and there’s no telling what he could have been if it wasn’t for that problem in his life.

“What a talent he was in his day.”

Malloy paused and thought for a bit. Then he continued

“I gotta believe if he didn’t struggle with addiction, he would have been a four time winner (of the Indy 500) like his uncle,” Malloy said. “There’s no telling what he could have done.”

Indeed, there’s no telling.

But the way Unser Jr. apparently sees it, his addiction and his career are intertwined.

“I was blessed with the talent that God gave me,” Unser Jr. told me in a 2024 interview. “Having that much talent is mixed. It’s a blessing but then it’s a curse too.

“For me, if I was looking back (on my life in) hindsight,” he added, “I’d say, be careful what you wish for.”

As for the second circuit, that one is personal.

And in that regard, Unser Jr. is fortunate: The seasons of one’s life are usually longer than the seasons of one’s career — making it possible to change.

He moved from Albuquerque to Indianapolis in October 2017 to be near his mother. That was the start, although he didn’t become sober until after his 2019 arrest.

What helped Unser Jr., the way he tells it, is his mother, his wife, Norma — and the grace of God.

Unser Jr. met Norma through church friends and married on Sept. 30, 2021, a day before his memoir came out.

“Things are really good in my life right now,” Unser Jr. said in 2024, “and honestly, Norma has so much to do with that.”

Their relationship, which Unser Jr. details in a new chapter in updated paperback and audio versions of his memoir that came out in May, has provided him with strength and stability in recent years.

Even as the personal losses piled up.

His addictions strained Unser Jr.’s relationship with his family — as did his decision to publish the memoir.

His father and stepmom, Susan, did not support Unser Jr’s decision to tell his life story.

So they stopped talking to him — a rift Unser Sr. carried to the grave.

Unser Sr. died in 2021, the same year as Bobby Unser. He was 82.

And Unser Jr. doesn’t know where his father’s ashes are — or why the location has been kept secret.

It’s been a lingering trauma, though one Unser Jr. said he has overcome.

“I’ve gotten past that,” he said in a recent interview. “It is what it is and that’s the way it is.

“There’s five stages of grief (and the final one) is acceptance,” Unser Jr. continued, adding upon his initial tautology, “and that’s where I’m at with it. It’s sad that dad was so popular and it’s sad that even within his family — and the generations afterwards — are not going to be able to go and visit a marker or anything like that. But that’s the way some people want it.”

Unser Jr., it’s clear, now cuts a sanguine figure.

Faith seems the likely catalyst for his new, more peaceful demeanor.

He was baptized in 2020.

“By connecting through Jesus, I could grab onto his right hand,” Unser Jr. said in 2023. “Through Jesus, I have had a real relationship with God. For some reason, I just didn’t get it before.”

Nowadays, Unser Jr., a taciturn and humble man, enjoys a relatively quiet life. He and Norma enjoy traveling in their motor home with their chihuahua, Rudy

“I’m just so grateful that Norma likes the motorhome,” he said. “She enjoys riding in it with me and she’ll sit there and listen to (an audio) book and knit away. She’s a master knitter and so she just knits away and I take my time.”

Indeed, anyone who saw him drive his motorhome likely wouldn’t recognize him as the King of the Beach.

He drives the speed limit — except in Texas where the 80mph limit is just too fast for their 42-foot motorhome — and on road trips he only drives five or six hours each day.

Yet, despite living the simple life, Unser Jr. has slowly worked his way back into the racing industry — and has been embraced.

As racing royalty, Unser Jr. said, he feels the responsibility of his generational fame and greets fans like old friends. No matter where he goes, he is recognized. Fans often share their memories of his races.

He engages in conversation with them — remembering every turn.

To those who followed his winter of addictions and arrests, his rebirth as a beloved elder statesman in the racing world might be surprising.

But not everyone lost faith in him.

“I’ve always believed in him, I still do,” Mike Lashmett, founder of Vintage Indy, said in a recent interview. “I’d like to think that our relationship — our friendship — played a part in where he’s at today, coming back is the way he has.”

Lashmett, who at 18 years old was part of Unser Sr.’s racing team, got to know the prodigal son in 1971 — when the future legend was only 9.

A race was rained out and everyone stayed back at the indoor hotel pool for days. Unser Jr. spotted Lashmett’s stack of go-kart magazines and started reading them.

“‘Gee Mike, I hope my dad buys me a go-kart,’” Lashmett recalled the youngster saying. “His dad bought him a go-kart and look what happened.”

Lashmett said he followed Unser Jr. throughout his career.

And the two reconnected less than three months after Unser Jr.’s well-publicized DUI arrest in 2019. Lashmett, and many others, have facilitated opportunities for the racing legend since then.

And now, six years later, fans, sponsors and others are seeking out Unser Jr.

Awards season

These days, Unser Jr. has been busy being feted. In March, he accepted the Heritage award as the Unser family representative at the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame event in Las Vegas.

On Thursday, the Road Racing Drivers Club will host its 15th annual Legends Dinner and Gala at the Westin Long Beach Hotel. Three icons will be honored: Mario Andretti, Brian Redman — and, of course, Unser Jr.

And later this month, he will visit the newly expanded Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska, which will celebrate the grand opening of its Unser Collection on April 26. The inventory from the former Unser Museum in Albuquerque, along with memorabilia from Bobby Unser, has been consolidated and will be on display at the Lincoln museum.

The Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed is a federally recognized 501 (c) (3) private foundation. It was founded in 1992 by “Speedy” Bill and Joyce Smith, the museum was formed, “to present a continuous chronology of automotive Racing Engine and Speed Equipment development and to preserve, interpret and display items significant in racing and automotive history” according to their website.

“They (museum officials) went to Aunt Lisa and got all of Uncle Bobby’s memorabilia: trophies, artwork, pace cars, all the stuff that Uncle Bobby had,” Unser Jr. said. “They went to the Unser Museum and got dad’s memorabilia and my memorabilia. And so for the first time, all of that memorabilia from the Unser family is under one roof.”

The collection spans the multiple generations of Unsers and the races they competed in, from Pikes Peak to the Indianapolis 500 — more than a century of history, all told.

“We’ve had a longtime relationship with the Unser family,” Matthews, the museum’s curator, said, “and we are honored to welcome the Unser collection to the Museum of American Speed.”

But before heading to Lincoln, Unser Jr. needs to once more embrace the Long Beach crown that’s on his head.

His racing kingdom was without its ruler for years, until he returned in 2024 to drive the pace car during the titular IndyCar race.

This time around, however, he will bear even more of the spotlight — as co-grand marshal.

Sure, Andretti, as the other grand marshal, will also be in that spotlight. But Andretti has never faded from the racing scene. He’s never missed a Grand Prix of Long Beach. He was the first King of the Beach. And he’s always been beloved.

But for Unser Jr., Andretti’s successor as King of the Beach and the prodigal prince of a legendary racing family, serving as grand marshal represents a full-circle moment.

“In church, we call it the going through the seasons of life,” Unser said, “and right now, the season of life that I’m going through is really good, and I just thank God and Jesus for all of that.”

That season is Unser Jr.’s vernal rebirth.

Staff writer Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.

Al Unser Jr.’s Grand Prix of Long Beach wins

1988: Unser Jr. wins his first Grand Prix of Long Beach, with a time of 1:53:47.

1989: Unser Jr. bumps Mario Andretti’s car, causing the latter to crash — and paving the way for his second Long Beach win. He finished in 1:51:19.

1990: Unser Jr. three-peats, winning the Grand Prix with a time of 1:53:00.

1991: Unser Jr. ties Andretti for the most Grand Prix of Long Beach wins, with four — claiming those titles in consecutive years. He finished in 1:57:14.

1994: After failing to win for two years, Unser Jr. gets back on top of the podium with a time of 1:40:53 — and officially becomes the new King of the Beach.

1995: Unser Jr. wins his sixth and final Grand Prix of Long Beach, with a time of 1:49:32.