For over half a century the Unser and Andretti families have become synonymous with Indycar racing and in particular the Indianapolis 500, with 11 driver having competed in over 100 races between them on their way to 10 victories at the Brickyard. Over the years the two dynasties have engaged in some of the most compelling action ever to grace the legendary speedway, but for one of their most controversial battles we need to go back to 1981, and to an incident that helped to push relations between the families to their limit.

By 1981 Indycar racing had begun to find it’s feet again after years of uncertainty. The row between USAC and CART that had threatened the future of the race three years previously had begun to wane, and by the time that teams arrived at Indianapolis for the first day of practice over a hundred entries had been registered intending to compete in the race, helping to make the field one of the most open and competitive ever at the speedway. Of those 105 entrants, Bobby Unser started the month as one of the pre-race favourites, the 46 year old had finished second in last season’s championship, and came into the 500 fresh of the back of a strong second placed finish at the season opening race at Phoenix. Despite being 46 at the time, Unser was still one of the versatile and intelligent drivers in the field when it came to the 500 mile showpiece, and after taking pole position in his Norton sponsored Penske, the veteran looked like the man to beat come memorial Sunday. The qualifying session hadn’t gone as smoothly however for Mario Andretti, the Nazareth native had secured a one off ride for the race during his full-time season in Formula One for Alfa Romeo, but scheduling conflicts with that season’s Belgian Grand Prix meant that Wally Dallenbach was forced to qualify Andretti’s car for the 500, meaning that the 1969 champion would be forced to start the race from the 32nd starting position.

Despite his poor starting position Andretti was able to quickly work his way through the field, the blue and neon red Patrick Racing machine had been one of the most competitive cars throughout the event, and by the time the race reached its middle stages Andretti had taken over the lead of the race just ahead of Unser. On lap 146 an incident between Tony Bettenhausen and Gordon Smiley put the race under caution, and both Andretti and Unser entered the pits to capitalise on a yellow flag pit-stop. Quick pitwork from the Penske team brought Unser out ahead of Andretti, but as the two cars entered turn one on the apron of the racetrack Unser continued to accelerate, continuing on the apron through turn two before taking his place behind the pace car having passed a dozen cars illegally. Andretti meanwhile overtook two cars before rejoining the track in the short chute, and in the process gave Unser a considerable advantage over him in their battle for the win.

After Gordon Johncock took over the lead for a brief spell, Unser resumed the lead of the race on lap 182, and managed to hold on to take a third 500 victory five seconds ahead of Andretti in second place. Soon afterwards however question marks began to be raised over the legality of Unser’s behaviour on the pit exit, television coverage of the race from ABC focused heavily on the incident, and after all-night deliberation over the decision Unser was penalised one place in the finishing order, and in the process handing victory to Andretti in the process.

Whilst Andretti was invited back to Indianapolis to participate in the traditional winner ceremonies, including the post-race winner photographs, Unser and Penske began a near year long legal court case against USAC’s decision to penalise him. Unser’s argument stemmed from the vagueness surrounding he ‘blend rule’ for cars exiting the pit-lane, stating that no formal rule regarding the blend position had been put in place, as well as suggesting that the warm-up lane used to make the exit was still considered part of the pit exit as opposed to the race track itself. Unser also suggested that by not penalising his infraction immediately afterwards they had in turn “automatically made the passes allowed because they failed in their responsibility to detect the infraction”.

After months of deliberation the decision was made to rescind Unser’s penalty and declare him the winner of the race, giving the 46 year old a third Indy triumph and making him the oldest winner in the history of the race, a record that would later be broken by younger brother Al in the 1987 race. Andretti meanwhile was forced to settle for second place, once again denied an opportunity for an elusive second 500 victory. The legal issues surrounding the victory however had began to take it’s toll on Unser. The high length and high cost of the legal campaign had helped to damper his enthusiasm for racing, and at the end of the 1981 season made the decision to retire from the sport to pursue a career as a television pundit.

The 1981 500 remains one of the most controversial in the races history, and whether you fall on the side of Andretti or Unser the exploits of that disputed race goes to show the lengths that any driver will go to in pursuit of glory, whether that be on the track or in this case in the courtroom.

For today’s video we have an episode of ABC News’ Nightline discussing the 1981 500 controversy. Note at the time of the recording Andretti still referred to as the winner of the race:

In tomorrow’s update we talk about a Yellow Submarine… and not the Beatles song.