Historical Footage: Al Unser, Jr.’s Trip To Lake Lloyd At Daytona During A 1978 IROC Race


Historical Footage: Al Unser, Jr.’s Trip To Lake Lloyd At Daytona During A 1978 IROC Race

IROC racing in 1978 was a grab bag of everything: drivers came from NASCAR, SCCA, Indy, drag racing and even outlaws. The Camaro used was the 1978 body, which was more NASCAR than the street cars turned race cars that the 1974-77 Camaros had been. At the race in Daytona, both versions of the car were on the track, but the big news had been about who wasn’t: A.J. Foyt, fed up with what he perceived as a rigged event, quit IROC at the end of the 1977 season. But just in case that wasn’t enough drama for one day, there was this scene, where Al Unser, Jr. got tangled with Mario Andretti, Richard Petty and Johnny Rutherford and sent sliding into and over the berm that rings Lake Lloyd. The impact of this one is impressive, but more impressive is how easily Unser walks away from the incident. He just flings off the belts and proceeds to self-extract. Rutherford and Petty didn’t get out of it so lucky…Petty got pinned in his Camaro and Rutherford’s car was completely done, with the hood folded over the windshield.


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2 thoughts on “Historical Footage: Al Unser, Jr.’s Trip To Lake Lloyd At Daytona During A 1978 IROC Race

  1. Jay Bree

    I remember this incident.

    It’s remarkable how much better cameras have become!

    Unser just casually walks away after that ride. He almost ended up in the drink!

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