@altroval The rules are the rules. You don't pass under yellow and the results are not official till USAC posted them in their window on Main Street, In Speedway. He passed under the rules he was penalized and when the official results were posted Mario was the winner. If you have to go outside of the sanctioning body to get the win then you lose. Mario and Bobby are both two time winners in my book.
The issue is that they both didn't pass cars as they did the issue was that they didn't do anything during the race as if it happened today they would have been penalized!
The day before this year's Indy 500 they had an autograph session and Bobby was there and I asked Bobby "Is everything OK these days between you and Mario?" and he answered, "Well, I haven't killed him yet"...we both laughed. Of course, I did not tell him what I really felt about his infraction in the 1981 race...I was just in such awe of having Bobby Unser (looking great) in front of me and be able to have a laugh with him.
@@derekgarcia1030 Mario has won an Indy 500, was Indy Car series champion, won the Daytona 500 in 1967 and was Formula One World Champion in 1978. Do you know any other driver who has accomplished what Super Mario has? No, because there isn't another driver. If that's your idea of "overrated", I'm sure any driver worth their salt would love to be overrated like that.
@@BouncingCow Not quite. Neither of those other two drivers ever competed in the Daytona 500. The one victory Hill achieved that Mario didn't was the 24 Hours of Le Mans which Hill won in 1972. The closest Mario came to winning at Le Mans was in 1995 when his team finished 2nd. Emmo is indeed a great driver but Mario has more victories that Emmo in Indy Cars and while both HIll and Emmo won more F1 races than Mario did (14 for both Hill and Emmo; 12 for Mario), Hill raced in that series for 17 years and Fittipaldi for 10 while Mario only raced one season and in that one season he was the series champion. At the end of the day, who was the greatest is in the eye of the beholder but I personally believe Mario holds that distinction.
I was at the race that day and everyone in the stands was commenting on what Bobby Unser did and we all thought it was illegal to make those passes. It was never done before then and never again done after that day. Mario should have been the winner and the penalty should have been enforced.
@@HornetVF103 I'm not arguing the morality of it. You said in your comment nobody had done it before or since and that is false. Someone did it and there's video proof in this video.
Bobby did find a loop hole in the rules, but the to seems questionable. I mean see Mario did it to, but he seems to do it like was intended. Bobby was on the gas passing, and idk about The rules at the time for maintaining a safe speed under yellow, or when the right side tires did drift above the line on the short shoot. But I agree with what Mario said about the penalty. 1981 Indy 500 winner Mario Andretti
@@jessehanson4218 Bobby was a Great Driver and Competitor. Gone are the days of the Greatest Drivers who Challenged the Indy 500 from this “classic years”💯✌️.
@@jessehanson4218 I watch the “re-runs” of races gone by. When I was younger, the drivers were “giants”. Every year they all took turns at racing to the front of the field. The cars were unpredictable, but the competition was predictable….no matter what, the usual “cast of characters” were going to do something to get to the front. There is nothing interesting to watch now. Im with you. Indy Car and NASCAR are “skeletons” of what they once were.
So did Mario get to keep the prize money when the official results were overturned four months later? And did he have to return the Borg-Warner Trophy? Later on, when USAC finally declared Bobby the winner, did it also give Bobby the same amount in prize money and another trophy? IMO, Mario won and should be recognized as the official winner of the '81 Indy 500.
@@Strider_JM Didn't Andretti only pass two cars? One of them was Foyt, who according to himself waved Andretti trough because he was a lap behind. Andretti also let the cars back.
I don't know about the money, but no driver keeps the trophy, it remains at the speedway. Drivers at the time got a wooden plaque with a mini replica on it, however that is usually presented just prior to the next year's race, so neither driver would've had it yet. In either 1987 or 1988, they switched from the wood plaque, to the "Baby Borg" trophies we see handed out today.
@@v12tommy Now I understand. Thanks for the clarification. Considering how large the Borg-Warner Trophy is, I used to think that the winners had to have had a large trophy case, especially drivers like Foyt, Mears and Al Unser Sr. who all won the race 4 times. What you wrote makes more sense.
Mario still has the winner's ring for the '81 race and I am glad he never gave it back. Races back then were made official at 8 am FOR A REASON...to see if any infractions occured. Penske seemed to just have "out-lawyered" Mario and Pat Patrick. Bobby in some parts of the video sounds like the criminal that rationalizes his behavior. When Unser talks about Mario passing cars on the same lap...he did, BUT he slowed up and let those cars pass him at the end of the short chute...BIG difference.
Unfortunately, the Speedway seems to have an unwritten rule and that is they will not change the results of the race. That goes way back to the very first Indy 500 race. The record books say that Ray Haroun won that race in a Marmon Wasp but in reality, Ralph Mulford won in a Lozier but because scoring and time-keeping back in 1911 were very primitive, the officials gave the victory to Harroun because they lost count of how many laps Mulford completed. And then in 2002, race officials denied Paul Tracy's protest and declared Helio the winner. No race result has ever been overturned.
I was there in 1981. I sat in the SW vista of turn one, first row of bleachers. I saw the pass as it happened right in front of us. The traffic was tighter when you're there than it looks on video. I honestly felt that he was right in not merging at that time. Mario did the same thing. We never thought of it at the time . Nobody said anything of it until we got home and turned the TV on to watch the televised race. Bobby Unser was ridiculously fast that day. Even without the controversy I still feel that he would've passed Mario & won. Besides, Andretti should've turned his head when Andy Granatelli kissed him after his only win in '69.
2-20-2010. Happy Birthday, Bobby. You were one of the all-time greats when the strong passion was there. Now, it's all about money in both INDY and NASCAR, especially the latter.
Bobby Unser said he and Mario doing the same thing.Why Andretti not also penalized 1 lap and not elevated Vern Schuppan and Kevin Cogan to 1st and 2nd?
You're right about both Bobby and Mario committing the same infraction, but you're wrong about what the penalty was, as was Tom Binford, who stated it was as much as a one-lap penalty. In fact, it was a one-position penalty that was assessed after the race to Unser, which was later (and I think rightfully) overturned. The officials couldn't have possibly have caught Mario committing the same infraction because the TV broadcast, which the USAC officials used, focused entirely on Unser passing those eight cars and Mario wasn't even in the shot when he passed the three he passed, so they couldn't possibly have known when they made their decision that Mario had also passed cars at the same time. The speedway's official film documented Andretti's violation. Also, it was never caught by the officials at the time, nor was it mentioned on the live radio broadcast, and even Chris Economaki didn't know about it when he interviewed Bobby in victory lane.
One version I have read is that Mario later let the three cars he passed pass him at the end of the short chute. If that's true then in reality Mario did not commit the same violation. Mario is the unofficial winner of this race.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390 You are correct, one of the cars Andretti passed was AJ Foyt, and according to Foyt, he waved Mario trough because Foyt was a lap down.
Reminds me of 1971 when Mario and Gordan Johncock were racing for position and someone blew an engine entering turn three. Mel Kenyon spun in the oil and got the wall at turn 3 exit and the safety crews were out to take care of him. He was half way out of the car. The yellow was clearly out. Johncock and Andretti came roaring down the back straight still fighting for position, neither willing to yield and both got in the oil and crashed. Johncock hit Kenyon's car and only luck saved the lives of the safety crew at his car. Mel had seen him coming and slid down into the cockpit and suffered only minor injuries. Mario hit further down the track and hit hard. All this happened because Mario and Johncock were not going to back down for the caution till they had the position they wanted. I don't know if it was Mario or Gordon who should have got the position but their stubbornness almost killed 3 people. Their was an attitude about rules back then and it was 'I'll do what I want and we'll force the officials to try and enforce it later.'
After all these years, I don't think Mario Andretti got over this. They BOTH AGREED that the true fault was that of USAC! IF there was a error it was that the track officials didn't bring them both into the pits for a penalty. What would the penalty have been? A stop and go(as they did in later years)? Who knows. Both Mario and Bobby are always going to be great drivers in my book!
Do you blame him? If what Super Mario said was true, that the only reason why the final results were not overturned was because Bobby won the race, then Mario got cheated. If I were Mario, I would feel the same way.
Let's set the record straight! Mario Andretti is one of the greatest drivers if not the greatest driver to ever live. Mario has won Indy, Daytona and F1. Along with several midget and sprint car (Dirt or Pavement) races. Along with a F1 championship. Not many (IF ANY!!) can say that. Bobby Unser (though a great driver in his own right ) has never even set foot in a F1! car. Along with Foyt . I'm not a big fan of the Andretti's but let's give credit where credit is due.
@@moonytheloony6516 The comment however was not whether Bobby won a F1 championship but whether he ever raced in that series so v12Tommy's comment was completely relevant.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390 Overruled. His comment is not relevant. Not at all. It's void of any knowledge of the subject. I could say Michael Andretti raced in F1 as well, but it was a forgettable attempt back in '93. The focus here is the level of excellence. Therefore v12Tommy failed in that understanding. You may take your seat counselor.
@@moonytheloony6516 You need to go back and read the original post more carefully. The poster said, "Bobby Unser (though a great driver in his own right ) has never even set foot in a F1! car". The emphasis here is on "...has never even set foot in a F1 car". V12bobby based his reply on that comment. You are the one who is completely irrelevant because what you said has nothing to do with that comment. You lose on appeal, counselor!
The reason Unser one is because the stewards didn't do anything about it until after the race. They knew it had happened and they didn't do anything during the race. Had they not seen it during the race, then penalized Unser after the fact, Andretti is the winner. But because they didn't decide to do anything in the moment, Unser is the winner. You can't call a foul after the game. This isn't the farcical NCAA.
@@TheBrainSpecialist Then why did they not make the winner official after they crossed the checkered flag? You know why. To review the tapes to check for the VERY circumstance here. Obviously you don't think they reviewed the tapes for amusement purposes only.
@@pajasa62 Correct, that's why the results aren't official until the next morning, but what Brain Specialist said is accurate. If they hadn't seen the infraction until after the race, they would have been justified, but there was proof that they knew about it during the race and he was not penalized. If they had penalized him during the race, he could've served the penalty and worked his way back to the front. There is also video of Mario doing the same thing, so even if they penalized both drivers when it happened, Bobby would still be the winner, as they were the only 2 cars on the lead lap.
@@v12tommy I hear what you are saying, but then why were the races made "official" the next morning. From everything I have heard, it was for officials to review the film's looking for infractions. Also that was the last pit stop, so instead of having an 8 to 11 car advantage, I doubt that Unser (despite his boasting) would have blown through the entire field. I know there was a race in the 1930's that Wilbur Shaw won by 3+ seconds, but I think the '81 race with Mario coming in 2nd, was the closest finish in Indy history until Johncock/Mears in '82. From my understanding (largely from Andretti) he came out quickly from the pits, then slowed up (films only show his coming out for a few seconds) and THEN A.J. Foyt waved Mario ahead of him.
I have an incredible respect for Roger Penske and what he did in his life. But this situation for me is equal to the 500 won by Castroneves in front of Paul Tracy. Bobby and Helio won their 500 because they drove for Roger Penske. With another team owner they were penalized.
I miss uncle Bobby doing color on broadcasts of Indy races with Tom Sneva........Bobby critizing Tom and the Gasman going right along playing the dumb happy racer..........oh those were the days.......I tuned into a race just to listen to those two..........hilarious.
Unfortunately this video doesn't clear anything up. What did the rulebook actually SAY? This should be a black and white issue. What are the WORDS in the rulebook? That's all that matters. Bobby's opinion doesn't matter. Mario's opinion doesn't matter. Neither do those of Tom Binford or Roger Penske. If the video wanted to be complete it should just show the applicable paragraph in the rulebook. Instead the point is to keep the controversy alive I guess?
Huge Mario fan. I remember watching this on TV as a 10 year old kid. Looking at the video, no doubt what Unser did should have been a penalty. To those saying Mario did it too...the rule states to blend in immediately. Mario passed 2 cars in trying to blend in. Unser made ZERO attempt to blend in and passed 14 cars. If that isn't egregious, I don't know what is. To me, Mario is the winner and the Unser penalty should have stayed.
Personally I think they are both in the wrong, but you see from this video that Mario has class while Bobby resorts to throwing insults. As far as saying they would have won if they were given the penalty during the race. I have seen a LOT of weird things happen on the last lap of a race. I also agree with Mario' s assesment that the rules were changed because Bobby crossed the line first. If Bobby were to finish fourth that penalty would have standed.
Okay just for all of you in the dark go watch the 2006 Indy 500 and you will see how Penske wins so many. He literally called his butt buddy during the race and had them go dig up penalties on all of the strongest cars. If you watch him he take down his competition not by racing but having penalties called on them to get them a drive threw penalty. It’s happen year after year.
Mario won thar race. The Unser name got him the win. Mario started last and Unser was on the pole. If they started in the same row, no question Mario beats him. The Unser that got screwed was Little Al in 1989 when Fittipaldi wrecked him on the next to last lap.
You can tell who is talking reality here...and who is being dishonest. The simple fact is that Unser DID commit the infraction regardless what he says. This Saturday, the day before the Indy 500, they are having Legends Day honoring Andretti...I hope I get the chance to tell him he deserved to win this race.
I'd call it mutually-cancelling penalties, judging by the film evidence. So, if Bobby won on the track otherwise, he just plain won. (Unfortunately for the Andretti fan that lives next door to the Penske fan in my head...lol)
The rules were not set up strictly and fairly at the time. Plain and simple, the rules might read now: Under a yellow pace car condition, you can not pass any car alongside you after coming out of the pits and must file in behind that car who has the right-of-way being on the track already. Furthermore, the cars behind the right-of-way car must brake and adjust to allow the car coming out of the pits to merge. C'mon Bobby; 8 - 11 or so cars passed!? That ain't very sporting, right? RIP Bobby Unser.
I would be too if people constantly keep calling me "cheater" for something that was an error by USAC. They should have penalized Bobby at the time. *They* goofed that up. Both Bobby and Mario did _exactly_ the same thing and neither were penalized at the time. If Bobby wasn't in contention to win the race, no one would have even cared about what he did. I would be annoyed too.
All the Unser's were crybabies, clearly a defiante and calculated move made by Unser. Mario should have been deemed the winner from the get go and it should not have been changed to Bobby's favor. Roger Penskes deep pockets am sure helped the outcome.
Brandon Darnell That's exactly right...it was just a case of Penske out-lawyering Andretti and Pat Patrick. Those races were made official at 8 am to see if any infractions occurred and the system played out like it should of. Penske's lawyers just diluted the result of the infraction, but there WAS an infraction. Last year at Legends Day before the Indy 500, I had a chance to have Mario sign a copy of the 1981 program and told him how I felt.
I have been an Mario Andretti fan for as long as I can remember. His only win took place about 7 months before I was born. I remember this particular race and being excited that Mario won. I don't remember hearing about the winner change, but I do remember Bobby doing this. Frankly I always thought Bobby was a bit of an idiot when he was doing the color for the races later.
in my opinion both mario and bobby should have been disqualified and 3rd place finisher vern schupann should have been delclaried the winn because both bobby and mario both passed cars in the lineup
But then again, if what Bobby Unser did was an infraction, then Mario Andretti committed the exact same infraction on the very same lap, because while the ABC cameras show Bobby Unser passing eight cars, behind him, Mario Andretti was passing three himself out of view of the ABC cameras, but not out of view of the speedway's cameras, which caught both Unser and Andretti passing cars under the caution. Had Gordon Johncock's car not quit on him in the closing laps (because he was going to finish second, and was not a part of this at any time), or if USAC had penalized both Unser and Andretti at the time of their apparent infractions, I'm not sure this controversy would exist today.
In life , everybody tries to gain an advantage. You then have to see if this advantage is legal or not. If it isn't legal and you get away with it , good for you. In this case , the governing body should've been blamed for not enforcing the rules. Everybody knows you can't pass on a yellow flag. This is valid for all categories of racing. In my opinion , Vern Schuppan should've been declared the winner because both Unser and Andretti passed on yellow. Greetings from Italy.
@@PeterMayer He passed three cars, one of them was Foyt, who waved Mario trough because Foyt was a lap down. Mario let the other two cars back at the end of the Short Chute.
I think this is the only blemish on Penske's career where morally, he was in the wrong. They should have let Mario have his win and not have lawyers fight it out.
@@ikshields I read recently that Mario did not commit the same violation because at the end of the short chute, he let the three cars he passed pass him. I didn't see this since it was not televised but if it's true then Mario broke no rules and should have been declared the winner.
One year later with the Kevin Cogan debacle, Penske would further infuriate USAC, and team owner Pat Patrick by refusing to let USAC officials inspect Cogans wrecked car after the crash. On his orders the car was immediately covered up, and locked away in its hauler. And left the speedway.
Uh, does Uncer even know how to read? Uncer was such a cheater his whole career. He used to regularly take advantage of the "Electro-Pacer" system in the 70s by making un-needed pitstops to gain track position that he normally would not have been allowed to.
I was at the race. The "official" results were changed more often than the Firestone's.
@altroval The rules are the rules. You don't pass under yellow and the results are not official till USAC posted them in their window on Main Street, In Speedway. He passed under the rules he was penalized and when the official results were posted Mario was the winner. If you have to go outside of the sanctioning body to get the win then you lose. Mario and Bobby are both two time winners in my book.
The issue is that they both didn't pass cars as they did the issue was that they didn't do anything during the race as if it happened today they would have been penalized!
No one followed the clearly written rules except Bobby and Mario.
The day before this year's Indy 500 they had an autograph session and Bobby was there and I asked Bobby "Is everything OK these days between you and Mario?" and he answered, "Well, I haven't killed him yet"...we both laughed.
Of course, I did not tell him what I really felt about his infraction in the 1981 race...I was just in such awe of having Bobby Unser (looking great) in front of me and be able to have a laugh with him.
Should've had a 10 lap duel
@@markdinkel9006 Now that would have been cool!
@@jessehanson4218Unser had a stronger car period
Congratulations Mario on TWO Indy 500 wins
Yeah right, the most overrated driver in Indy history as are all the andrettis.
@@derekgarcia1030 Mario has won an Indy 500, was Indy Car series champion, won the Daytona 500 in 1967 and was Formula One World Champion in 1978. Do you know any other driver who has accomplished what Super Mario has? No, because there isn't another driver. If that's your idea of "overrated", I'm sure any driver worth their salt would love to be overrated like that.
I totally agree. Mario won that race, despite what the official results say.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390while I respect Mario andretti, I would still argue that Graham hill and Emerson fittipaldi had similar achievements
@@BouncingCow Not quite. Neither of those other two drivers ever competed in the Daytona 500. The one victory Hill achieved that Mario didn't was the 24 Hours of Le Mans which Hill won in 1972. The closest Mario came to winning at Le Mans was in 1995 when his team finished 2nd. Emmo is indeed a great driver but Mario has more victories that Emmo in Indy Cars and while both HIll and Emmo won more F1 races than Mario did (14 for both Hill and Emmo; 12 for Mario), Hill raced in that series for 17 years and Fittipaldi for 10 while Mario only raced one season and in that one season he was the series champion. At the end of the day, who was the greatest is in the eye of the beholder but I personally believe Mario holds that distinction.
I was at the race that day and everyone in the stands was commenting on what Bobby Unser did and we all thought it was illegal to make those passes. It was never done before then and never again done after that day. Mario should have been the winner and the penalty should have been enforced.
There's literally footage of someone else doing it in this video lol
@@dugger0 ...after Bobby did it! This was completely dishonest.
@@HornetVF103 I'm not arguing the morality of it. You said in your comment nobody had done it before or since and that is false. Someone did it and there's video proof in this video.
Bobby did find a loop hole in the rules, but the to seems questionable. I mean see Mario did it to, but he seems to do it like was intended. Bobby was on the gas passing, and idk about The rules at the time for maintaining a safe speed under yellow, or when the right side tires did drift above the line on the short shoot. But I agree with what Mario said about the penalty. 1981 Indy 500 winner Mario Andretti
lmao Bobby was a riot listening to his color comm and hes hilarious here as well lol.
Mario still has the Championship Ring😂
@@jessehanson4218
Bobby was a Great Driver and Competitor.
Gone are the days of the Greatest Drivers who Challenged the Indy 500 from this “classic years”💯✌️.
@@jessehanson4218
I watch the “re-runs” of races gone by.
When I was younger, the drivers were “giants”. Every year they all took turns at racing to the front of the field.
The cars were unpredictable, but the competition was predictable….no matter what, the usual “cast of characters” were going to do something to get to the front.
There is nothing interesting to watch now. Im with you. Indy Car and NASCAR are “skeletons” of what they once were.
Good. He deserved it.
Rick Mears once said, "Nobody can convince you black is white like Bobby Unser."
Vern Schuppan...1981 Indianapolis 500 Winner
So did Mario get to keep the prize money when the official results were overturned four months later? And did he have to return the Borg-Warner Trophy? Later on, when USAC finally declared Bobby the winner, did it also give Bobby the same amount in prize money and another trophy? IMO, Mario won and should be recognized as the official winner of the '81 Indy 500.
Unser & Andretti both committed the same offence so that negates the issue, or at least it should lol
@@Strider_JM Didn't Andretti only pass two cars? One of them was Foyt, who according to himself waved Andretti trough because he was a lap behind. Andretti also let the cars back.
I don't know about the money, but no driver keeps the trophy, it remains at the speedway. Drivers at the time got a wooden plaque with a mini replica on it, however that is usually presented just prior to the next year's race, so neither driver would've had it yet. In either 1987 or 1988, they switched from the wood plaque, to the "Baby Borg" trophies we see handed out today.
@@v12tommy Now I understand. Thanks for the clarification. Considering how large the Borg-Warner Trophy is, I used to think that the winners had to have had a large trophy case, especially drivers like Foyt, Mears and Al Unser Sr. who all won the race 4 times. What you wrote makes more sense.
@@Strider_JM In that case we should have been celebrating Vern Schuppan as an Indy winner lol
RIP Bobby Unser.
I didn't realize he had passed away until I read your comment. RIP Indeed!
Mario still has the winner's ring for the '81 race and I am glad he never gave it back.
Races back then were made official at 8 am FOR A REASON...to see if any infractions occured. Penske seemed to just have "out-lawyered" Mario and Pat Patrick. Bobby in some parts of the video sounds like the criminal that rationalizes his behavior.
When Unser talks about Mario passing cars on the same lap...he did, BUT he slowed up and let those cars pass him at the end of the short chute...BIG difference.
Unfortunately, the Speedway seems to have an unwritten rule and that is they will not change the results of the race. That goes way back to the very first Indy 500 race. The record books say that Ray Haroun won that race in a Marmon Wasp but in reality, Ralph Mulford won in a Lozier but because scoring and time-keeping back in 1911 were very primitive, the officials gave the victory to Harroun because they lost count of how many laps Mulford completed. And then in 2002, race officials denied Paul Tracy's protest and declared Helio the winner. No race result has ever been overturned.
Pat Patrick racing would even the score 1 year later with Penske racing with Gordon Johncocks dramatic win over Rick Mears.
I was there in 1981. I sat in the SW vista of turn one, first row of bleachers. I saw the pass as it happened right in front of us. The traffic was tighter when you're there than it looks on video. I honestly felt that he was right in not merging at that time. Mario did the same thing. We never thought of it at the time . Nobody said anything of it until we got home and turned the TV on to watch the televised race. Bobby Unser was ridiculously fast that day. Even without the controversy I still feel that he would've passed Mario & won. Besides, Andretti should've turned his head when Andy Granatelli kissed him after his only win in '69.
Correct, the field was tightly bunched during those caution laps. Would have difficult for either Unser or Andretti to blend in.
what does Granatelli kissing Andretti have to do with it?
2 of the greats....but my 2 favourite drivers are Rick Mears & Gilles Villenueve.
2-20-2010. Happy Birthday, Bobby. You were one of the all-time greats when the strong passion was there. Now, it's all about money in both INDY and NASCAR, especially the latter.
Bobby Unser said he and Mario doing the same thing.Why Andretti not also penalized 1 lap and not elevated Vern Schuppan and Kevin Cogan to 1st and 2nd?
You're right about both Bobby and Mario committing the same infraction, but you're wrong about what the penalty was, as was Tom Binford, who stated it was as much as a one-lap penalty. In fact, it was a one-position penalty that was assessed after the race to Unser, which was later (and I think rightfully) overturned.
The officials couldn't have possibly have caught Mario committing the same infraction because the TV broadcast, which the USAC officials used, focused entirely on Unser passing those eight cars and Mario wasn't even in the shot when he passed the three he passed, so they couldn't possibly have known when they made their decision that Mario had also passed cars at the same time. The speedway's official film documented Andretti's violation. Also, it was never caught by the officials at the time, nor was it mentioned on the live radio broadcast, and even Chris Economaki didn't know about it when he interviewed Bobby in victory lane.
One version I have read is that Mario later let the three cars he passed pass him at the end of the short chute. If that's true then in reality Mario did not commit the same violation. Mario is the unofficial winner of this race.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390 You are correct, one of the cars Andretti passed was AJ Foyt, and according to Foyt, he waved Mario trough because Foyt was a lap down.
Reminds me of 1971 when Mario and Gordan Johncock were racing for position and someone blew an engine entering turn three. Mel Kenyon spun in the oil and got the wall at turn 3 exit and the safety crews were out to take care of him. He was half way out of the car. The yellow was clearly out. Johncock and Andretti came roaring down the back straight still fighting for position, neither willing to yield and both got in the oil and crashed. Johncock hit Kenyon's car and only luck saved the lives of the safety crew at his car. Mel had seen him coming and slid down into the cockpit and suffered only minor injuries. Mario hit further down the track and hit hard. All this happened because Mario and Johncock were not going to back down for the caution till they had the position they wanted. I don't know if it was Mario or Gordon who should have got the position but their stubbornness almost killed 3 people. Their was an attitude about rules back then and it was 'I'll do what I want and we'll force the officials to try and enforce it later.'
RIP Bobby
After all these years, I don't think Mario Andretti got over this. They BOTH AGREED that the true fault was that of USAC! IF there was a error it was that the track officials didn't bring them both into the pits for a penalty. What would the penalty have been? A stop and go(as they did in later years)? Who knows. Both Mario and Bobby are always going to be great drivers in my book!
Do you blame him? If what Super Mario said was true, that the only reason why the final results were not overturned was because Bobby won the race, then Mario got cheated. If I were Mario, I would feel the same way.
Andretti won this race.
What if everyone passes cars below the line? I mean, I get out the pits and start overtaking...if I'm 24th I can go straight up to first, no?
They should've had a ten lap shoot out between those two in 81 then we'd find out how strong Bobby's car was
Yes grusse obviously you can
God bless him but Bobby would have made a wonderful defense attorney. Absolutely no guilt or conscience.
Mario Andretti 1981 Indy 500 peoples champion !
Let's set the record straight! Mario Andretti is one of the greatest drivers if not the greatest driver to ever live. Mario has won Indy, Daytona and F1. Along with several midget and sprint car (Dirt or Pavement) races. Along with a F1 championship. Not many (IF ANY!!) can say that. Bobby Unser (though a great driver in his own right ) has never even set foot in a F1! car. Along with Foyt . I'm not a big fan of the Andretti's but let's give credit where credit is due.
Uh, Bobby raced in F1 too.
@@v12tommy
So what?
He didn’t win the Formula 1 Championship...research a little before you flap your yap..
@@moonytheloony6516 The comment however was not whether Bobby won a F1 championship but whether he ever raced in that series so v12Tommy's comment was completely relevant.
@@georgfriedrichhandel4390
Overruled.
His comment is not relevant.
Not at all. It's void of any knowledge of the subject. I could say Michael Andretti raced in F1 as well, but it was a forgettable attempt back in '93. The focus here is the level of excellence. Therefore v12Tommy failed in that understanding.
You may take your seat counselor.
@@moonytheloony6516 You need to go back and read the original post more carefully. The poster said, "Bobby Unser (though a great driver in his own right ) has never even set foot in a F1! car". The emphasis here is on "...has never even set foot in a F1 car". V12bobby based his reply on that comment. You are the one who is completely irrelevant because what you said has nothing to do with that comment.
You lose on appeal, counselor!
3:48 Bobby says "Bobby Unser,1981 Indianapolis 500 winner".
How can anyone say if he had been penalized immediately he would have made it back to the front? Anything could happen in the back of the field.
At 0:25 you can see Bobby crossing that white line and then ducking back under it to pass 2 more cars. He broke the rules.
The reason Unser one is because the stewards didn't do anything about it until after the race. They knew it had happened and they didn't do anything during the race. Had they not seen it during the race, then penalized Unser after the fact, Andretti is the winner. But because they didn't decide to do anything in the moment, Unser is the winner.
You can't call a foul after the game. This isn't the farcical NCAA.
@@TheBrainSpecialist
Then why did they not make the winner official after they crossed the checkered flag? You know why. To review the tapes to check for the VERY circumstance here. Obviously you don't think they reviewed the tapes for amusement purposes only.
@@pajasa62 Correct, that's why the results aren't official until the next morning, but what Brain Specialist said is accurate. If they hadn't seen the infraction until after the race, they would have been justified, but there was proof that they knew about it during the race and he was not penalized. If they had penalized him during the race, he could've served the penalty and worked his way back to the front. There is also video of Mario doing the same thing, so even if they penalized both drivers when it happened, Bobby would still be the winner, as they were the only 2 cars on the lead lap.
@@v12tommy
I hear what you are saying, but then why were the races made "official" the next morning. From everything I have heard, it was for officials to review the film's looking for infractions. Also that was the last pit stop, so instead of having an 8 to 11 car advantage, I doubt that Unser (despite his boasting) would have blown through the entire field. I know there was a race in the 1930's that Wilbur Shaw won by 3+ seconds, but I think the '81 race with Mario coming in 2nd, was the closest finish in Indy history until Johncock/Mears in '82. From my understanding (largely from Andretti) he came out quickly from the pits, then slowed up (films only show his coming out for a few seconds) and THEN A.J. Foyt waved Mario ahead of him.
@@v12tommy
The ABC News Nightline version (a great watch) shows how Mario slowed up and merge into the 4th car from the back of the field.
I have an incredible respect for Roger Penske and what he did in his life. But this situation for me is equal to the 500 won by Castroneves in front of Paul Tracy. Bobby and Helio won their 500 because they drove for Roger Penske. With another team owner they were penalized.
Mario broke the rules and Unser broke the rules. Give them both a stop and go penalty and they finish in the same order anyway.
I miss uncle Bobby doing color on broadcasts of Indy races with Tom Sneva........Bobby critizing Tom and the Gasman going right along playing the dumb happy racer..........oh those were the days.......I tuned into a race just to listen to those two..........hilarious.
Mario was supposted be the 2-time winner with STP sponsorship.
Bobby list that race. Not sure what rule he was talking about but Tom Binford even said that he should have been penalized a lap
I still don't know what the real truth is after 39 yrs
Unfortunately this video doesn't clear anything up. What did the rulebook actually SAY? This should be a black and white issue. What are the WORDS in the rulebook? That's all that matters. Bobby's opinion doesn't matter. Mario's opinion doesn't matter. Neither do those of Tom Binford or Roger Penske. If the video wanted to be complete it should just show the applicable paragraph in the rulebook. Instead the point is to keep the controversy alive I guess?
Mario got screwed. And he started last that race as he was off in Europe running F1 and had to have a person qualify his car.
RIP Bobby Unser
Huge Mario fan. I remember watching this on TV as a 10 year old kid. Looking at the video, no doubt what Unser did should have been a penalty. To those saying Mario did it too...the rule states to blend in immediately. Mario passed 2 cars in trying to blend in. Unser made ZERO attempt to blend in and passed 14 cars. If that isn't egregious, I don't know what is. To me, Mario is the winner and the Unser penalty should have stayed.
Wow can't believe this
Personally I think they are both in the wrong, but you see from this video that Mario has class while Bobby resorts to throwing insults. As far as saying they would have won if they were given the penalty during the race. I have seen a LOT of weird things happen on the last lap of a race. I also agree with Mario' s assesment that the rules were changed because Bobby crossed the line first. If Bobby were to finish fourth that penalty would have standed.
At least al and little al weren't this dirty
Okay just for all of you in the dark go watch the 2006 Indy 500 and you will see how Penske wins so many. He literally called his butt buddy during the race and had them go dig up penalties on all of the strongest cars. If you watch him he take down his competition not by racing but having penalties called on them to get them a drive threw penalty. It’s happen year after year.
Mario won thar race. The Unser name got him the win. Mario started last and Unser was on the pole. If they started in the same row, no question Mario beats him. The Unser that got screwed was Little Al in 1989 when Fittipaldi wrecked him on the next to last lap.
You can tell who is talking reality here...and who is being dishonest. The simple fact is that Unser DID commit the infraction regardless what he says. This Saturday, the day before the Indy 500, they are having Legends Day honoring Andretti...I hope I get the chance to tell him he deserved to win this race.
Me and at least 2 other people in line had Mario sign 1981 Indy 500 programs.
I'd call it mutually-cancelling penalties, judging by the film evidence. So, if Bobby won on the track otherwise, he just plain won. (Unfortunately for the Andretti fan that lives next door to the Penske fan in my head...lol)
Penske has more money, and was a Big Wheel in the Sport at the time. Bobby knew he cheated.
Penske owns the speed way now. Enough said👎
Mario won this race plain and simple.
The rules were not set up strictly and fairly at the time. Plain and simple, the rules might read now: Under a yellow pace car condition, you can not pass any car alongside you after coming out of the pits and must file in behind that car who has the right-of-way being on the track already. Furthermore, the cars behind the right-of-way car must brake and adjust to allow the car coming out of the pits to merge. C'mon Bobby; 8 - 11 or so cars passed!? That ain't very sporting, right? RIP Bobby Unser.
Will we ever know what was right and what was wrong ?
Noone explained any details that matter . cautions can get very complicated when resetting the field .
I lost a lot of my respect for Bobby Unser because of the way he cheated in this Indy 500.
Funny how Bobby Unser still seems angry and Mario is all cheerful .....
I would be too if people constantly keep calling me "cheater" for something that was an error by USAC. They should have penalized Bobby at the time. *They* goofed that up. Both Bobby and Mario did _exactly_ the same thing and neither were penalized at the time. If Bobby wasn't in contention to win the race, no one would have even cared about what he did. I would be annoyed too.
Mario is a class act! Bobby?
I'm still angered about this b.s. bending of the rule. I believe pit exit speed was regulated after this race.
I always thought Bobby, unlike Al and Al Jr., was annoying but I side with him on this one. Mario seems to handle it with class in this interview.
Hard not to like Bobby.
thats crazy i dont know who to side with
Mario won that race. Like Paul Tracy won against Helio. Robbed
Mario was robbed.
Indy has f***** over more than a few drivers. Way to parochial. Jimmy Clark, Mario, Paul Tracy.
The officials were wrong to give Bobby the win here.
All the Unser's were crybabies, clearly a defiante and calculated move made by Unser. Mario should have been deemed the winner from the get go and it should not have been changed to Bobby's favor. Roger Penskes deep pockets am sure helped the outcome.
Brandon Darnell
That's exactly right...it was just a case of Penske out-lawyering Andretti and Pat Patrick. Those races were made official at 8 am to see if any infractions occurred and the system played out like it should of. Penske's lawyers just diluted the result of the infraction, but there WAS an infraction. Last year at Legends Day before the Indy 500, I had a chance to have Mario sign a copy of the 1981 program and told him how I felt.
I have been an Mario Andretti fan for as long as I can remember. His only win took place about 7 months before I was born. I remember this particular race and being excited that Mario won. I don't remember hearing about the winner change, but I do remember Bobby doing this.
Frankly I always thought Bobby was a bit of an idiot when he was doing the color for the races later.
Roger had the money to pay for the win. Money talks in the courtroom. Look at the OJ case
@@erictaylor5462 He was terrible doing the color but not as bad as Sam Posey!
@@brandond73 True. I liked Derrick Daily, but he was on F-1, not Indycar.
in my opinion both mario and bobby should have been disqualified and 3rd place finisher vern schupann should have been delclaried the winn because both bobby and mario both passed cars in the lineup
It was absolute bulshit. You go to court? Bulshit. Mario won it.
He cheated and Mario rightfully won the race
But then again, if what Bobby Unser did was an infraction, then Mario Andretti committed the exact same infraction on the very same lap, because while the ABC cameras show Bobby Unser passing eight cars, behind him, Mario Andretti was passing three himself out of view of the ABC cameras, but not out of view of the speedway's cameras, which caught both Unser and Andretti passing cars under the caution. Had Gordon Johncock's car not quit on him in the closing laps (because he was going to finish second, and was not a part of this at any time), or if USAC had penalized both Unser and Andretti at the time of their apparent infractions, I'm not sure this controversy would exist today.
Mutual infractions. They both did it. Did you see the video?
In life , everybody tries to gain an advantage. You then have to see if this advantage is legal or not. If it isn't legal and you get away with it , good for you. In this case , the governing body should've been blamed for not enforcing the rules. Everybody knows you can't pass on a yellow flag. This is valid for all categories of racing. In my opinion , Vern Schuppan should've been declared the winner because both Unser and Andretti passed on yellow. Greetings from Italy.
@@ikshields where exactly did Mario do this and how many cars did he illegally pass under the yellow?
@@PeterMayer He passed three cars, one of them was Foyt, who waved Mario trough because Foyt was a lap down. Mario let the other two cars back at the end of the Short Chute.
I think this is the only blemish on Penske's career where morally, he was in the wrong. They should have let Mario have his win and not have lawyers fight it out.
Scott Emrich - They would have had to give Mario the exact same penalty. They both did it. Call it null.
@@ikshields I read recently that Mario did not commit the same violation because at the end of the short chute, he let the three cars he passed pass him. I didn't see this since it was not televised but if it's true then Mario broke no rules and should have been declared the winner.
One year later with the Kevin Cogan debacle, Penske would further infuriate USAC, and team owner Pat Patrick by refusing to let USAC officials inspect Cogans wrecked car after the crash. On his orders the car was immediately covered up, and locked away in its hauler. And left the speedway.
Remember the year when no penske cars qualified at all.i do like penske but bobby accelerating past 8 cars is bogus.
@altroval Mario deserves is because the cheating Bobby Unser penalty should have been enforced, it's just that simple.
Bob you cheated and retired because of it
That was bullshit, Unser cheated plain as day.
I would rather come in second than a victory with an * beside it.
"Beating Mario was easy".
Uh, does Uncer even know how to read? Uncer was such a cheater his whole career. He used to regularly take advantage of the "Electro-Pacer" system in the 70s by making un-needed pitstops to gain track position that he normally would not have been allowed to.
Unser was always a cheater
Whineo Sucks!
Bobby Unser, No class...
I’ve always thought unser was a special needs child.
lol thats what i like about him
@wuub 🤣🤣🤣👍
All the Unsers are crybabies. Mario is a class act.