Foyt hires Unser Jr. for Indy 500

Unser, who recently had a brush with the law and was arrested for driving under the influence in January in Las Vegas, has been hired by A.J. Foyt to drive in the Indianapolis 500. Unser will drive the No. 50 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Honda/Dallara as a teammate to Foyt's full-time driver, Darren Manning.

The car's number is in honour of Foyt's 50th year in racing.

Unser's past has included some storied racing accomplishments - he won the Indy 500 in 1992 and 1994 and won two CART championships - and some well-documented problems.

However, Foyt, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner who raced with the Unser family throughout his career, decided to hire Unser for the month of May.

Unser's father, Al Unser, made his Indy 500 debut in a Foyt car in 1965, qualifying 32nd and finishing ninth in the race. The last of the elder Unser's four victories came in 1987, tying Foyt's record. Bobby Unser, Al's brother, won the Indy 500 three times.

Preparations for the 91st Indy 500 begin Sunday with the first day of the rookie orientation program. Full-fledged practice begins Tuesday, with pole qualifying set for May 12 and the race scheduled for May 27.

"Al Jr. is a really talented driver whose experience will bring a lot of good things to our team this month," Foyt said. "I'm looking forward to working with him at Indy. We've stepped up our IndyCar Series program overall this year in a lot of ways.

"Hiring a veteran like Al Jr., who has won at the Speedway and knows it so well, will help our regular driver, Darren, because it's been a couple years since he's run there."

Unser said the relationship between Foyt and his father played a role in his decision to accept the offer.

"It's a real honor to be driving for A.J., especially during his 50th anniversary season and especially at Indy," said Unser, who turned 45 last month.

"A.J. has so much history at the Speedway, and the Unsers are a part of that history. A.J. played a big role in getting my dad started at Indy in '65, so when A.J. called me to drive for him, I felt honored and very proud."

Foyt, who won the race in 1999 with Kenny Brack, said he's confident of his chances this time.

"I think this is our best chance at Indy since we won it in '99," Foyt said.