Driving no longer fun for Indy two-time champion Unser Jr.

INDIANAPOLIS - Two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr. retired Wednesday because he was no longer having fun as a driver.

• Photos

Unser, who also won two CART championships, struggled in recent years and had little success since joining the IRL series in 2000.

"I have always said that I would get out of the race car if driving stopped being fun for me and if I felt that I was no longer competitive on the track," Unser said. "After careful thought, I came to this conclusion just after the Richmond race and knew that it was time for me to retire."

Unser said he would stay with Patrick Racing as an adviser. The team said it would select a replacement driver later.

He worked for several months to find a ride for this season after breaking his pelvis last October when he was thrown from an all-terrain vehicle in New Mexico.

After months of rehabilitation, Unser signed with Patrick Racing in March but missed the first three races of the IRL season.

Unser had three IRL starts this year, never finishing in the top 10. His final race was Saturday at Richmond, where he ended up 22nd.

Unser won the closest Indy 500, defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds in 1992. His other Indy victory came in 1994, when he won from the pole and beat Jacques Villeneuve by 8.6 seconds.

The 42-year-old from Albuquerque, N.M., was the second-generation star from one of auto racing's most famous families: he is the son of four-time Indy winner Al Unser Sr. and nephew of three-time winner Bobby Unser.

"Very few race drivers will ever accomplish as much on the race track as Al has during his career," Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George said. "As a competitor he has upheld the Unser tradition and added balance to their legacy during the last 20-plus years."

Unser missed two races during the 2002 season while at a treatment center for alcohol abuse as a result of his arrest in Indianapolis after his girlfriend said he hit her in the face while drunk. Prosecutors didn't file charges against him.

With Unser's retirement, the IRL has lost two of its best-known drivers since May 2003.

Michael Andretti retired at age 40 after last year's Indianapolis 500 to focus his attention on ownership in the Andretti-Green team.

"I've always had a ton of respect for him. He's a great guy," Andretti said of Unser in a written statement. "I'm proud to have raced against him for as many years as I did. He's had an unbelievable career and I hope he enjoys looking back at all his accomplishments."