Bobby Unser: King of the Mountain
Bobby Unser earned three victories at the Indianapolis 500, two national championships in open-wheel racing, plus an IROC championship in his lengthy competitive driving career. But his favorite event was the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Unser earned 13 wins — including 10 overall victories — at Pikes Peak from 1956 to 1986.
Program, "25th Annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb," Labor Day, September 1, 1947
Bobby Unser at Pikes Peak Hill Climb, 1955
Bobby Unser Racing Up Pikes Peak, July 4, 1956
Bobby returned to Pikes Peak the following year in a modified Jaguar. This time, he earned his first overall victory in the race. Unser's time up the mountain — 14 minutes, 27.0 seconds — wasn't just the best in his class, but the best finish of anyone in that year's competition.
Bobby Unser in Race Car Crossing Finish Line at Pikes Peak Hill Climb, 1958
Bobby Unser at Pikes Peak Hill Climb, 1959
Bobby Unser Racing Up Pikes Peak, July 4, 1960
Bobby Unser at Pikes Peak Hill Climb, 1961
Bobby Unser Racing Up Pikes Peak, July 4, 1962
Bobby Unser Taking Off from the Starting Line, Pikes Peak Hill Climb, July 4, 1963
Unser earned his sixth consecutive Pikes Peak overall victory — and his fifth consecutive win in the Moore/Unser car — in 1963. His time up the mountain was 12 minutes, 30.6 seconds.
Bobby Unser Crossing the Finish Line, Pikes Peak Hill Climb, July 4, 1963
Bobby Unser competed most successfully at Pikes Peak in the open-wheel division. This photo shows him crossing the finish line in his open-wheel Moore/Unser car in 1963 — when he won the open-wheel and overall victories. At times, Unser also competed in the sports car and stock car divisions. He won the sports car division in 1963.
Bobby Unser at Pikes Peak Hill Climb, 1966
Bobby Unser Racing Up Pikes Peak, June 29, 1968
Bobby Unser Standing beside His Ford Torino at Pikes Peak Hill Climb, 1969
Bobby Unser Racing a Dodge Dart at Pikes Peak Hill Climb, July 4, 1974
Bobby Unser Racing an Audi Quatto at Pikes Peak Hill Climb, July 12, 1986
Bobby Unser earned his final overall victory in 1986 — 30 years after his first and three years after he largely retired from competitive driving. Unser's last triumph came behind the wheel of an Audi Quattro, which he rocketed up the mountain in 11 minutes, 9.22 seconds. It was a new course record — Bobby Unser's 13th such record at Pikes Peak.
