In describing himself, Unser said he was not a good teammate, and wasn’t good at sharing everything that he knew. To him, teammates were the first drivers he wanted to beat.
Mears, though, said he learned a lot from the way Unser viewed his teammates.
“He was a great teammate,” Mears told SPEED SPORT. “He and I got along well. He helped me when I first got into Indy cars because I had met him at Pikes Peak beforehand. He helped me when I was driving for other teams and pointed me in the right direction.
“But when we got together on the Penske team, now I’m a competitor. I understood that with him. He was old school in that respect. He didn’t really go along 100 percent with the team concept, which I understood. It really wasn’t a problem with me. At that point, I was getting my feet under me and we were running pretty decent, and I had my own ego and my own pride, and I wanted to feel like I did it myself.
“That didn’t mean I didn’t watch him and listen and pay attention. I didn’t lean on him too much as far as asking him certain things because that put him in a spot. I understood how he was. But I darn sure kept my ears and eyes open and I really learned a lot from him in that respect. And there were things he helped me on, unless I was getting too close in his direction on what he was working on.
“He was good.”
Mears often said to Unser that he “taught him more than he realized.”
“He is the one who came up with that,” Mears recalled. “After he had retired, we would go to a function and if my name came up, he would tell everyone he taught me everything I know. That was typical Bobby. I got a kick out of it and I started using it back at him. We would be at a function and if he went up before I did, he would say ‘I taught Mears everything that he knows.’ When I got up, I would say, ‘Bobby said he taught me everything he knows. I have to tell you, he taught me more than the knows.
“He taught me how to read between the lines, sort through the BS. He did teach me a lot.”
Mears would go on to win the Indianapolis 500 four times in his career, all with Team Penske. Andretti is the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner, 1967 Daytona 500 winner and 1978 Formula One world champion. He was also teammates with Unser at Penske Racing in 1979-1980 when he was still a full-time competitor in the Formula One World Championship.
Penske was Unser’s last team owner. The two enjoyed much success and helped establish the winning tradition that carries on to this day at Team Penske.
“There simply was no one quite like Bobby Unser,” Penske said. “Bobby was a ferocious competitor on the track, and his larger-than-life personality made him one of the most beloved and unique racers we have ever seen.
“Bobby brought so much to Team Penske during his time with our team, including a memorable victory in the 1981 Indianapolis 500.
“Beyond his many wins and accomplishments, Bobby was a true racer that raised the performance of everyone around him. He was also one of the most colorful characters in motorsports. Throughout his time as a driver, a commentator and an ambassador of our sport, Bobby’s stories and his passion for racing were legendary.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with Lisa, the Unser family and Bobby’s many friends and fans during this difficult time.”
In his latter years, the man affectionately known as “Uncle Bobby” would make the annual pilgrimage to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 500. The Unsers would stay in their motorhome in the driver/owner motorhome lot at IMS.
The door was always open, and Unser would greet everyone with a warm smile and tell one tale after another.
Next week, when Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for the month of May culminating with the 105th Indianapolis 500, someone else’s motorhome will be parked in Unser’s familiar spot.
“He will be missed big time by a lot of people,” Mears said. “My condolences to his family and friends and everybody else.
“It is a sad day, and he will be missed.”