The Penske PC27 is a somewhat improbable choice for Al Unser Jr’s favourite car. A two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time IndyCar champion, he had his greatest successes at the wheel of the Lola T90/00, Galmer G92 and Penske PC23-94 in US open-wheel racing. By contrast, he went winless in the radical PC27 throughout 1998 and doesn’t have entirely positive memories with it, having broken a leg in 1999’s Homestead season-opener in its modified B-spec.
It was a difficult juncture in Unser’s personal and professional life too, amid well-publicised personal problems that he admits make it difficult to properly assess his own performances. But a car he described in his 2021 book A Checkered Past as a “work of art” was one he “truly enjoyed driving, testing, going out and being a part of the development”. Unser is adamant that factors other than the chassis prevented John Travis’s design from winning and recalls being struck by the craftmanship of a car he raced to a best result of second at Motegi in 1998.
“The way the car was designed was just beautiful and John Travis did a fantastic job,” he says. “That car was such a pleasure to drive.” Unser believes “it is a shame that it didn’t see any chequered flags” first.
He especially appreciated the PC27’s F1-style high nose and innovative features that were a product of former Lola man Travis recognising that Roger Penske’s loyalty to Goodyear would require something special. Firestone had si.