Bobby Unser

Mention the name Bobby Unser to the average person, and winning auto races instantly comes to mind. Unser, the older of the two famous racing brothers, established the family legend many years ago by capturing his first Indy 500 in 1968.  He also won the "Brickyard" classic three times (1968, 1975, and 1981).
 
Among Unser's marks include: the first driver to record a 200 mph qualifying average speed in Indy car competition, 35 career Indy car wins, 49 Indy car pole positions, 8 500-mile Indy car victories, winnings over $2.6 million, 4 International Race of Champions (IROC) wins, a record 13 Pikes Peak Hill Climb wins, owned and prepared Al Jr.'s car for the Pikes Peak winning effort in 1983 and son Robby's winning efforts in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990.
 
But, while the father of four notched a sensational racing chronicle, Unser also has served as one of the corporate industry's premier spokesmen. Unser worked as ABC TV's chief analyst on the network's Indy 500 telecasts, he has utilized his vast background and knowledge to express important messages to the general public through speaking engagements, television and radio commercials, print advertising, and other corporate venues.
 
Companies such as Audi of America, The American Gas Association, Alarm Supply, Bombardier Snowmobiles, Mechanical Industries, Mid-Western Transit, Turbo Tek Enterprises, Clayton Manufacturing, Farrah Clothing, IBM, General Motors, Heublein Corporation, Bilstein Corporation, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Champion Spark Plugs, Jorgensen Steel, Mobil Oil Corporation and Industrial Training Systems are just a sampling of the corporations which have used Unser's services to communicate their ideas and promote their products.

Chris Economaki

Economaki is the world’s best-known reporter motorsports history. He saw his first race when he was 9 at the Atlantic City board track and was hooked for life. He saw every race he could, and by the time he was 14 he was a fixture in the racing world. He knew all the cars and drivers and, while still in his teens, wrote a byline column for the National Auto Racing News, a precursor of National Speed Sport News.
 
When he took the helm in 1950, National Speed Sport News was moribund. But Economaki raised its circulation and its influence in the racing world. Today, it is the most influential weekly motorsports publication in the country. Still an important feature of the paper is Economaki’s informative column, The Editor’s Notebook. In April 2000, shortly before his 80th birthday, Economaki marked 50 years at the editor’s desk.
 
As a track announcer at a number of major races in the 1940s and 1950s, Economaki brought his own brand of infectious enthusiasm to the job. The fans loved his style. Track announcing led to broadcasting. Economaki reported most of ABC Sports’ telecasts of motorsports events on ABC’s Wide World of Sports and the special telecasts of the Indianapolis 500. In fact, he was one of the first expert commentators hired by ABC Sports. He made his debut at the July 4, 1961 running of the Firecracker 250 stock car event at Daytona Int’l Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
After 23 years with ABC Sports, he moved to CBS-TV where for more than 10 years he traveled to the world’s great races for that network. He now does occasional pieces for ESPN, Speed Channel and other TV networks.
 
During his tenure at ABC sports, Economaki covered the world’s major auto events, including Formula One Grand Prix, the LeMans 24-hour, Australia’s Bathurst 1000, the East African Safari, the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. He has covered every form of racing—from the big Championship Indy-type events to the sprint cars, NASCAR stock car races, Can-Am competitions and drag races.
 
Text and photo courtesy of National Speed Sport News