Al Jr busted for DUI (again?)

[johnny shell]

http://www.tmz.com/2007/01/26/indy-car-legend-busted-for-dui/

[3-wide]

Very sad news. I hope he can rebound again.

[johnny shell]

he's one of my all time favorites, that's for sure.

[gofastandwynn]

Oh, well MarkC just put is as "IRL driver arrested again." You see Mark, it is because of low blows like this that you will never get past the internet.

PS, why didn't you phrase it as "2-time CART champ arested again"?

[Jag_Warrior]

The Indy Star and AP listed him as "two time Indy 500 winner."

But I don't think any of that matters. I never cheered for Al as a driver... never really liked him. But to see the man's life continue spiraling out of control is very sad. It's his problem and only he can fix it. But I really hope he gets the help that he obviously needs.

[Mark in Oshawa]

It is sad, but don't get mad they didn't mention him as a CART Champion. You cant dislike CART when bad things happen, and claim him as your own when he does something right. Mark C just took the lead of the press release.

IT is a sad thing to hear of Al's problems with alcohol, but he has to stay clean and sober if he expects to have any sort of normal life. His racing days I think are sadly over ahead of schedule....his career would have been longer and greater IMO if it wasn't for the demons that he obviously is fighting.

I never was a huge fan, but he was nice to me whenever I had a chance to talk to him at Toronto, including one time just coming out of the bathroom!!! Some fans ambushed him for autographs about 2 second as he came out of the men's room in the Automotive building at the Ex where the race is. He was still doing up his nomex getting ready to go out for a practice. I joked with him as he walked away smiling a guy cant even get a break in the men's room, and he told me he was just glad they didn't ambush him in there, but it had happened before.

He is a good guy on a lot of levels, but booze can destroy one's priorities, and I hope he finds a way to recover. He comes from very good stock...Al Sr. is one of the classiest men anywhere.....

[gofastandwynn]

It is sad, but don't get mad they didn't mention him as a CART Champion. You cant dislike CART when bad things happen, and claim him as your own when he does something right. Mark C just took the lead of the press release.




I am not upset that he wasn't mentioned as a cart champion, it is that this "journalist" is going out of his way to slander the IRL. Why dosen't he just say "Unser Jr. arrested again"? That explains the story a lot more than "Another IRL driver arrested." I didn't see him reporting PT accident as "Drunk CCWS drived injured in motor vehicle crash." MarkC is a glorified blogger who tries to pass himself of as a journo...

[NY2IA]

I know this is not the correct forum, but since the subject of his DUI was raised, I wanted to ask if anyone has heard if he will still race in the historic grand prix in Las Vegas in April?

[grungex]

I am not upset that he wasn't mentioned as a cart champion, it is that this "journalist" is going out of his way to slander the IRL. Why dosen't he just say "Unser Jr. arrested again"? That explains the story a lot more than "Another IRL driver arrested." I didn't see him reporting PT accident as "Drunk CCWS drived injured in motor vehicle crash." MarkC is a glorified blogger who tries to pass himself of as a journo...

CNN listed him as a NASCAR driver in their crawl...

[gofastandwynn]

CNN listed him as a NASCAR driver in their crawl...


Hell, you could say that he is a FIA, IMSA, USAC, CART, IndyCar, NASCAR, IROC, SCCA, WOO, A1GP & IRL driver. These are all facts, but to quote Don Quixote, "Facts are the enemy of the truth."

[grungex]

Was CNN going out of their way to slander NASCAR?

[gofastandwynn]

Was CNN going out of their way to slander NASCAR?

No, just to the main stream media all racing is Nascar.

[Rudy Tamasz]

Poor Opie. Failing sobriety test at 11 a.m. is clearly an indicator of something. Let's imagine, he's hung over, sick, depressed, hates the whole world and needs a shot of booze to return to senses. And then he has an accident...

I really hope he gets better.

[NoFender]

Poor Opie. Failing sobriety test at 11 a.m. is clearly an indicator of something.

Long night????

[captin 1 VXR]

well we have to say is he s not the first and will not be the last .

also i always woundered why thay have red bull drink bottles . must be red bull and vodka ...


back to topic

he need to sort himself out as d d in usa is a bigger no no than back there in the uk .

[gerkebi]

why didn't you phrase it as "2-time CART champ arested again"?
Because Mark can spell.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Gofast, I think if Michael Andretti was feted for something grand in a headline as a "former CART champion" you would be equally pissed, but like I said, you cant have it both ways. You want to claim he is a CART guy because he was found on a DUI and not an IRL guy? Last people giving him a job were in the IRL, so that is what he is. Accuracy is the first rule of journalism, and it is accurate. Al Jr. at last glance was a participant, albeit part time in the IRL.

Anyone with half a brain knows he ran CART and god knows what else, but his mug was on the Indy 500 broadcast in 2005, and he hasn't run anything else....so I cant see why this is such an issue for you. You want to be upset? Be upset that the guy was around drinking in the MORNING and then driving around. Too many deaths occur because of stupid crap like this, yet you worry about a headline....

[Opinion8d]

the monkey is on al jr bad as alcoholism has destroyed many lives :(

[R. Mears]

I remember reading this when it happened. Really sad to go from a 2 time Indy 500 winner to a 2 time DUI offender.

[Mickey T]

i had a bit to do with him re the gold coast indy race, and it's terribly sad to see him look so old. he looks like a 55 year old.

as for what kind of racer to call him, most of the mainstream media don't really know the ins and outs of the political wrangling between the open wheeler formulae.

he is most readily identified with open wheeler racing and, to most people in the US, that means the Indy 500, which now means IRL and not CART. My guess, knowing how newspapers work, is that that's how the thought process would have gone.

[ZzZzZz]

He looked really good last May. Like he'd really cleaned up and gotten back into shape. Let's hope this is just a speed bump for him. Sometimes people need one last reality check before fully committing to staying clean.

I remember the guy who spent his spare time talking with fans insted of hiding out in a trailer.

[Komahawk]

It's such a shame. Hope he'll overcome that obstacle.