Bill Whittington, 1949-2021

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emailBy Robin Miller and Marshall Pruett | April 25, 2021 12:15 PM

The tumultuous life of Bill Whittington came to a fiery end Friday afternoon in a private airplane crash outside Winslow, Ariz.

Whittington, 71, and another passenger perished but details were still sketchy on Sunday as local officials and the National Transportation Safety Board have yet to officially confirm his death. Some of Whittington’s closest friends, however, are grieving after receiving private news of his passing.

“I just spent three days will Bill here in Florida last week, then he went to the Bahamas, then went back to Arizona,” Whittington’s former co-team owner and co-driver Randy Lanier told RACER. “He took a friend out in a Merlin (plane) there. It was a friend with terminal cancer who lost his pilot’s license, so he took him up flying.”

Amid stops to wipe away tears, Lanier said they last communicated Friday morning.

“We were close. He was my brother,” he said. “He sent me a message yesterday morning, it was scripture: ‘Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.’ And he said he was going to get ready to take his buddy up. His final act was taking up someone with terminal cancer.”

Along with brother Don, the Whittingtons became a fixture in American sports car racing in the late 1970s and early 1980s after they teamed with Klaus Ludwig to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979. That was the same year they purchased Road Atlanta.

They came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in 1980 and both qualified five times for the Indy 500 during the next six Mays. Bill qualified sixth fastest in 1982 but lost an engine in the race and his best finish was 14th in his swan song in 1985. But their cars seldom had any sponsorship or advertising displayed and the rumor was funny money financed the operation.

Best known for his exploits in sports car racing, Whittington was one of IMSA’s most famous marijuana-smuggling drivers who financed his participation in the sport from profits earned in the drug trade. From his debut in 1978 through 1985, Whittington was a regular presence in victory lane, driving high-power Porsche 935s and early GTP cars.

His best season came in 1984 where he and Lanier’s Blue Thunder Racing team won the GTP championship; Lanier was credited with first and Whittington took second in the standings due the two driving separate cars at some rounds. Altogether, Whittington earned 14 wins and 29 podiums over an eight-year span in IMSA.

In 1986, Bill pleaded guilty to income tax evasion and conspiracy to smuggle marijuana into the USA from Colombia and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and ordered to surrender $7 million in property and other assets. A year later, Don pleaded guilty to money laundering in association with his brother’s activities.

Bill served five years in jail before being released in 1990 and Don spent 18 months behind bars.
"The damn IRS sure knows how to stop the competition. Now the democrats are making marijuana legal and making taxpayers pay for it, to keep the votes coming in for democrats.

And the govt is RELEASING criminals, while JAILING people who open up a business
where they were forced by democrat laws NOT to earn a living!
Why didn't the govt release ME from jail? Bunch of crooked MF democrats!"

Then, in 2018, Bill was charged with tax evasion for failing to report a $10 million investment generated through two off-shore bank accounts and also under-reported income from a Colorado resort owned by his daughters. He paid $1.8 million restitution to the IRS as a condition of his plea bargain and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Upon his release, Whittington’s name and his Florida-based World Jet Inc. company appeared last year after it was awarded nearly $20 million in purchase orders from the state of Oklahoma to provide masks and PPE needed during the height of COVID-19. With World Jet’s failures to provide the PPE, the purchase orders were cancelled.

For Lanier, who was released from prison in 2014 after similar drug-related convictions that began in the mid-1980s, the chance to reconnect with Whittington was an unexpected gift.

“I got out about six years ago, and was pretty high-profile and couldn’t see him for a lot of reasons,” he said. “And then, just last week, all that changed and it had been 34 since we’d seen each other. It was like God brought us back together before he transcended.”

 

Rick Mears exhibit to open at IMS Museum in May

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emailBy Joey Barnes | April 17, 2021 7:11 AM

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum will feature an exhibit honoring Rick Mears on the 30th anniversary of his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory, which came after out-dueling Michael Andretti in the 1991 edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Mears’ likeness is also cast on the Borg-Warner Trophy for victories in 1979, 1984 and 1988.

Mears, who was born in Wichita, Kansas, stands alongside A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Sr. for most victories in Indy 500 history. Uniquely, though, it took Mears just 14 starts to capture his fourth, which was significantly fewer than Foyt (20) or Unser Sr. (22). Additionally, Mears still holds the record for most poles in the history of the race with six (1979, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1991). In 15 starts, he sat on the front row a staggering 11 times.

The IMS Museum will showcase “Rocket Rick Mears presented by Racermaker Press” beginning on Sunday, May 2.

According to the IMS Museum press release, the feature will take guests on “a personal journey, giving context to Mears’ formative years and what molded the man, the driver and humble champion. The story begins when as a child, Mears watched his father, Bill, race on Kansas short tracks, followed by the family’s move to the hot Southern California oil and agricultural town of Bakersfield. It was there that Mears and his older brother, Roger, started racing dune buggies for fun, but soon became off-road racing champions.”

Some of Mears’ most iconic cars will be on display, including all four race-winning Indy 500 entries: the 1979 Gould Charge Penske PC6; the 1984 Pennzoil Z7 March 84C; the 1988 Pennzoil Penske PC17 and the 1991 Marlboro Penske PC20 (pictured above).

Also part of the attraction is the 1982 Gould Charge PC10, which was part of the famous race-ending battle in the 1982 Indy 500 duel between Mears and Gordon Johncock, who ended up beating Mears by 0.16s. The 1977 Eastside Cafe Special Eagle, a car that Mears first attempted to qualify (but didn’t make the field) for the Indy 500 with, will be another unique challenger from the archives. Mears’ 1976 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb-winning car will also be available to see, along with several examples of Roger and Rick’s championship off-road racing vehicles.

The exhibit will also feature artifacts, historic video and photographs from the museum’s collection, plus additional items loaned by Mears and the Penske collection, among others. The experience will provide a more in-depth scope on “The Mears Gang,” and Mears’ approach to racing as a whole.

Guests will learn of the early struggles Mears faced in Indy car racing, and how motorsports safety legend Bill Simpson played a critical role in his career. Another part of the Mears story is his perseverance following a 1981 pit fire that left him with facial burns, and a 1984 crash that nearly took both feet.

Lastly, the experience will allow guests to “relive the Mears-Penske dynasty, from team owner Roger Penske’s hiring of Mears for the 1978 season, to Mears’ surprise retirement announcement at the 1992 Team Penske Christmas party, and his continuing impact on the IndyCar Series as a driver consultant, coach and mentor for Team Penske.”

The exhibit will run through March 2022.

IMS Museum, Rick Mears, IndyCar

 

Bobby Unser 1934 – 2021

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emailBy Robin Miller | May 3, 2021 12:07 PM

He conquered Pikes Peak before the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and had an inordinate grasp of how to make a race car faster when most of his competition wasn’t paying attention to those details. Then he took that track record into television for 20 years and launched another successful career. He never met a microphone he didn’t like, and nobody gave opinions on any subject with less filtering and more conviction.

But Bobby Unser, who passed away Sunday at the age of 87, should be remembered as one of the fastest, bravest and most skilled racers to ever sit in an Indy car.

“When I showed up to the track, for any race, the first person I always looked to see if he was there was Bobby Unser,” said two-time Indy 500 winner Gordon Johncock.

“Sure there was Foyt and Mario, Rutherford and his brother Al. But I wanted to know if Bobby was there. He was the one driver that I knew I had to beat each and every week. He was my main competition, he was the fastest, hardest-racing and most aggressive driver I competed against. When we lined up I looked around and wanted to know where he was starting, which was usually up front. Bobby knew how to win and fought every lap of every race to be in first place. If you beat Bobby, you accomplished something.”

“Nobody ran harder than Bobby,” says Bill Vukovich, who raced against Unser from 1968-1981. “And it was lap after lap, he always wanted to be in front.”

Growing up in Albuquerque, N.M., he was the third oldest of four brothers and racing was preordained, since his uncles pretty much owned the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. He quit high school after his sophomore year and won a stock car title at age 15 before scoring the first of his record 13 Pikes Peak victories in 1956 when he was 22.

Unser studied that mountain a lot harder than he had algebra or science and it paid off because the run up treacherous 19-mile course was on dirt with no runoff – just a deadly plunge down the 14,100-foot mountain.

“It taught us both a bunch about car control,” recalled brother Al Unser, another king of the hill in Colorado before becoming a four-time Indy winner.

As good as Unser was in the Rocky Mountains and as much potential as he’d shown in midgets and sprints on the west coast, the man who exuded confidence had none in the early 1960s when it came to moving up the ladder.

“I never considered Indianapolis because I didn’t think I was good enough,” he admitted back in 2008. “But Rufus (Parnell Jones) told me I was going and he got me a ride and I always be indebted to him.”
Unser quickly had Pikes Peak’s number, but conquering the Brickyard took a little longer. His breakthrough Indy win in 1968 was a step towards his becoming a Speedway icon. Image by IMS

Unser was nearly 30 when he qualified as a rookie in 1963 and had missed four prime years of racing when he joined the Air Force from 1952-55. His first two Indy 500s didn’t make it past the second lap, and he was in his fifth season before finally earning his first IndyCar victory.

But everything changed in 1968 when he got hooked up with crew chief Jud Phillips and the Leader Card team. He led 127 laps and beat the heavily-favored turbine car and went on to edge Mario Andretti for the USAC championship.

“That put me on the map, and winning Indianapolis changed my life,” he said back in 2000.

The next big break was being hired by Dan Gurney. They were a formidable pair with their chassis knowledge and non-stop ideas for improving/tinkering, and with John Miller’s Offy engines they led a lot of laps and won a lot of pole positions. In 1972, Unser broke the IMS track record by 17 mph in Gurney’s Eagle and had seven poles and four wins in 10 races, but didn’t win the championship because of too many DNFs.

Gurney, who finished second at Indy twice, finally made it to Victory Lane in 1975 with Unser and they stayed together until 1979.

That’s when Roger Penske came calling and it was perfect timing – the ground effect era and the man who loved testing and experimenting.

“People said it would never last, that Roger and I wouldn’t be able to get along, but nothing could have been further from the truth,” said Unser in 1988. “He trusted me and gave me all the tools I needed, and I think the PC-7 was one of the best Indy cars ever.”

Unser led 50 laps in ’79 in the PC-6 and was leading with 20 laps to go when he had gearbox trouble and had to pit, eventually finishing fifth. In 1980, he qualified third and was leading at the halfway point before his turbocharger failed.

In 1981, the PC-7 he helped design was in a class of its own as Unser led 89 laps and lapped everyone except runner-up Andretti, who protested afterwards that his longtime friend and rival had illegally passed 11 cars exciting the pits. USAC agreed and Mario was declared the winner the next morning, which set off a protest that ended with Unser being reinstated in October.
Unser was dominant in 1981 in a Penske PC-7 he helped design, although it took several months for his win to be confirmed. Image by IMS

“I didn’t do anything wrong and I certainly didn’t need to cheat because we had everyone covered all day,” was Unser’s defense the whole time.

At 47, he was the oldest winner at that time, and was testing a car for Pat Patrick at Phoenix in the winter of 1982 when he abruptly retired.

During his career he amassed 35 IndyCar wins, 52 poles and a pair of national championships while leading 3,933 laps. He was on the front row at Indy nine times and elected into the Motorsport and IMS Hall of Fames.

After retiring, ABC hired Unser to provide commentary for the Indy 500 along with Paul Page and Sam Posey and it was one of the most entertaining booths in racing history, as Unser spent a third of the race correcting his partners. He also worked for NBC and ESPN.

“You never knew what Bobby was going to say, and that made it exciting,” said Page.

Unser battled a multitude of health problems in his last decade but it didn’t stop him from going to the Chili Bowl every winter or the Hall of Fame dinner at Indy or PRI show. At the end he couldn’t walk but he certainly could talk, and that’s how we’ll remember him – preaching, giving advice, arguing and telling stories, because he always drew a crowd.

Unser is survived by his wife, Lisa; sons Bobby Jr. and Robby; and daughters Cindy and Jeri.

 

There was nobody like Bobby Unser

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emailBy Robin Miller | May 3, 2021 6:11 PM

He wanted to lead every lap, monopolize every conversation, chat up the prettiest girl in the room and have the final word. He couldn’t be bothered if he offended you because, “Son I only tell the truth,” and he had more opinions than boxes of oil stashed at his garage. He was fast and fearless in a race car, and dodged The Grim Reaper many times.

But the essence of Bobby Unser was that personality. That bombast. That cocksure attitude. That undying belief everything he said was true, or at least in the vicinity. Ask him a question, you got an unfiltered answer.

A.J. Foyt: “Great, great driver but a big bully.”

Mario Andretti: “As good as anyone that ever sat in a race car but a little tough on equipment.”

Parnelli Jones: “The best I ever saw.”

Gordon Johncock: “Tough to beat but if he’d known anything about a chassis he’d have won a lot more races.”

Brother Al Unser Sr: “Really, really smart in a race car. Didn’t know a lot about them, but when the car was right he was almost impossible to beat.”

Johnny Rutherford: “Great in a sprint car. Aggressive and fast but crashed a lot of Indy cars.”

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Bobby Unser 1934 – 2021

The Magnificent 7 is now down to six. We’re so lucky all these badasses and heroes are still alive and kicking in their 80s, but the one thing we should never lose sight of is why so many fans gravitated towards Uncle Bobby.

He talked to everyone that ever approached him, signed everything, posed for endless photos and acted like he remembered meeting ‘Ol’ Joe at Trenton in 1970.’ He made people feel appreciated and part of the conversation – just like Mario does.

“I’d never admit this to him, but he taught me something very good and very valid back when we were running Pikes Peak in the ‘60s,” says the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner. “He was always around a lot of people and I just remembered how kind and how good he was to the fans. That never left me.

“Bobby was a good dude.”
After being fast friends throughout their careers, Unser and Andretti’s relationship cooled after the contentious 1981 Indy 500. On this evening in 2013, with Parnelli Jones and Johnny Rutherford on hand, they buried the hatchet. Levitt/Motorsport Images

Unser had a nickname for his Italian-born rival that doesn’t sit well with modern sensibilities, but it was meant as a show of affection, not a slur, and there was no offense taken by the guy he went up and down the highway with for 20 years. Their intensity and desire to lead every lap almost made them twins.

“We were very much alike, we both wanted to lead every lap and extract everything from the car, and I think our style would have been good today,” continues Andretti.

“The friendships were lasting back then. We’d be out there trying to kill each other and then go have a beer later. We had so many good times off the track and the camaraderie was so real, and I know we always appreciated the fact we were still standing.”

Whether it was jetting back and forth from the Hoosier Hundred to the Italian Grand Prix on the same weekend, racing rental cars or laughing at the practical joke they just played on a fellow driver, Bobby and Mario were best of friends until 1981’s disputed Indy 500.

It wasn’t a cold war as much as it was just chilly between them. Gracious in public, but no social interactions to speak of until 2013. PR maven Steve Shunck was hosting his annual Borg-Warner dinner two nights before the race with Parnelli, J.R. and Unser, spotted Mario downstairs and invited him to join the boys. It was magic; 90 minutes of the two old pals telling stories, laughing and giving each other the needle.

“I think he likes me again,” declared Unser a couple days later.

Time, age and distance kept them apart except for May, but they stayed in touch by phone periodically. When Andretti called Bobby on his 85th birthday, he confessed he got a little “tear in his eye” and we couldn’t wait to tell Mario.

The last few months were rough and Unser never left bed as wife Lisa did a masterful job of making him as comfortable as possible. At first he balked at having day care twice a week (“too expensive”) but even the multi-millionaire finally realized he needed help. The last time we talked he said to make sure Penske knows he’s available to drive the pace car, but his lucid moments were few and far between over the last six weeks. It was time for this icon to move on, because nobody lived life at the edge longer than Rapid Robert.

“Life goes on,” says Mario. ”But our gang has lost a great one.”

 

Bobby Unser's life in pictures

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emailBy RACER Staff | May 3, 2021 2:53 PM


Bobby Unser
First Pike's Peak win; 1956© Courtesy Steve Shunck | 2021


Bobby Unser
Indy 500 debut, 1963© IMS | 2021


Bobby Unser
Ferguson Novi, 1964 Indy 500© Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
Leading a pack, 1965 Indy 500© Friedman/Motorsport Images | 2021

 

Bobby Unser
Huffaker Offenhauser, 1966 Indy 500© Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
1967 Indy 500© IMS | 2021


Bobby Unser
First Indy 500 win, 1968© IMS | 2021


Bobby Unser
Driving into Victory Lane, 1968© Motorsport Images | 2021

 

Bobby Unser
Qualifying the BRM at the 1968 Italian GP© Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
Sharing a laugh with Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti and Denny Hulme, Monza 1968© Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
With Bruce McLaren, Monza, 1968© Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
1968 US Grand Prix, Watkins Glen© Motorsport Images | 2021

 

Bobby Unser
1969 Indy 500© IMS | 2021


Bobby Unser
1970 Indy 500© IMS | 2021


Bobby Unser
Pocono, 1971© Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
1972 Indy 500© IMS | 2021

 

Bobby Unser
1973 Indy 500© Phipps/Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
With Dan Gurney, Ontario, 1974© Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
Michigan, 1974© Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
He'll look even happier after the checker... 1975 Indy 500, win no.2© IMS | 2021

 

Bobby Unser
Victory celebrations with Dan Gurney and the Borg Warner Trophy, 1975© IndyCar | 2021



Bobby Unser
1976 Indy 500© IMS | 2021


Bobby Unser
IROC, Riverside, 1976© Motorsport Images | 2021


Bobby Unser
Indy 500, 1977© IMS | 2021