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3-time Indy 500 winner, New Mexico native Bobby Unser dies at 87

Race car driver Bobby Unser is shown in 1977.
AP via CNN
Race car driver Bobby Unser is shown in 1977.

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — Bobby Unser, winner of the 1968, 1975 and 1981 Indianapolis 500s, passed away Sunday at the age of 87 at his New Mexico home.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced his death in a news release Monday.

Unser is one of 10 drivers to win the prestigious Indy 500 at least three times and was the first driver to win the race in three different decades, a feat later matched by Rick Mears.

Bobby was a member of the legendary Unser family of racecar drivers. His older brother, Jerry Unser, died at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a crash during practice ahead of the 1959 Indy 500. His younger brother, Al Unser, is a four-time winner of the Indy 500, and his nephew Al Unser, Jr, won the race twice. In total, six members of the Unser family have raced in the Indianapolis 500.

Unser was inducted into several motorsports Halls of Fame including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Bobby Unser is survived by his wife Lisa, sons Bobby Jr. and Robby, and daughters Cindy and Jeri.

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