Al Unser Sr. was on a tear in 1971, taking his second Indy 500 and continuing his winning ways at the Milwaukee Mile in June. Here’s a neat little video summary.
The Indy cars no longer compete at the Milwaukee Mile, and that’s a shame in our view. We always enjoyed covering races at the one-mile oval, plunked down in the middle of West Allis, Wisconsin, a residential suburb just outside Milwaukee. The state fairgrounds track, which dates all the way back to 1876, hosted its first auto race in 1903, was paved in 1954, and last featured an Indy car event in 2015. It doesn’t appear that the Indy cars will ever return to the legendary facility, but never say never. Maybe the inestimable Roger Penske, new owner of the series, can make it happen somehow.
Al Unser Sr. was red hot in 1971, driving the P.J. Colt-Ford that was far better known as the Johnny Lightning Special. Bobby’s little brother swept the first three races of the season, a doubleheader in Argentina and the Phoenix 150, then took the big one at Indianapolis in May—his second Indy 500 win in a row. (Still image above courtesy Indianapolis Motor Speedway.) At Milwaukee for the Rex Mays 150, which traditionally followed just after Indy on the USAC schedule, Unser continued his winning ways. Here’s the great Bud Lindemann to call the action.
I attended this race. My dad and uncle went to all the races and I went with them when I could.