Loni Unser

Loni Unser will take on the 100th running of The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb as a rookie, but with a very special motivation. The Unser family have been intertwined with Pikes Peak for over 100 years and have dominated America's to the clouds from generation to generation. Loni is the latest in a long line of winning Unsers.  In this special episode, Loni joins Peter MacKay to discuss her preparations and the challenges for a driver with a dynasty like hers.

On this week’s episode of Speed Secret Podcast, Loni Unser (yes, of THE Unser family) joins me to talk about her absolute love of the sport. Can you guess what the number one thing is that she’s learned from her family who has a total of 9 Indy 500 wins? She dishes. We also discuss the importance of patience in racing, how important confidence is – especially for a woman in racing, and why “never coast” is bad advice. Loni’s Speed Secret: Dedication and hard work – that’s what it takes, not matter what level or type of racing you’re in. Check out Loni below: All social media: @loniunser Web: www.loniunser.com With an athletic background in downhill skiing and other line-finding sports, Loni Unser recently discovered her talent for racing. With the support of her famous family, she is rapidly becoming a threat on track. She has raced the Spec Miata classes in NASA and the MX- 5 Cup (4 races), as well as a variety of marquees in the World Racing League and ChampCar, among others. The young driver carries her family name to a new generation of fans. Her grandfather was Jerry Unser, the first of the famous Unsers to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. From then on, the Unser family has won the prestigious Indianapolis 500 nine times and become known as “The First Family” of American auto racing. Unser’s career is made possible through partnerships with companies that are supporting her development. She has worked with Cooper Tire to promote tire and vehicle safety, placing her at the center of a campaign that provided an invaluable opportunity for her to grow as a marketing property and explore the role of brand ambassador. She believes in the power of positive role models and hopes to inspire young girls through her activities on and off track and competes as a Shift Up Now athlete as an ambassador for women in racing. Unser is a recent graduate of the Environmental Design program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Unser continues to focus on her development as a driver and looks ahead to claiming her place in the record books. Her future plans will carry her to a full season in Mazda’s MX-5 Cup Series, IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship and the storied tracks of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Loni Unser is our guest racing driver for this episode.  She is a fourth generation racing driver and has quickly worked her way up through several racing series in all types of cars and racing.  She has recently announced that she will be driving the Swamp Dragon Hot Sauce car in the MX5 Cup.  She graciously accepted our invitation to the podcast and is easily one of the nicest and friendliest guests we have ever had.  We hope everyone will be following her career and we hope to see her at a track in the future (most likely as she is passing us, lol) On this week’s Dominating with Dawson, we begin to cover one of the key aspects of a driver’s personality and tendency by looking at helping two types of drivers progress.  If you look at drivers as a spectrum, each will fall somewhere between a driver who tends to push a car hard and perhaps even overdrive a car naturally vs a driver who tends to approach the limit more slowly and gradually.  Every driver is different, but each of us will likely share aspects of each type, but it is always useful to look at the way the driver’s personality can impact their driving and optimal learning approach. You can follow Loni as Loni Unser on all the various social medias. We hope you enjoy this episode! Best regards, Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers Highlights from this episode include: 1)  We go over many of the positives and potential negatives of being an Unser at a racetrack.  We really want to go to the family go cart race for the holidays. 2)  Some great stories and perspectives on how racing has grown and evolved since her family started racing, things like the addition and improvement safety systems and fire suits etc. 3)  Jen brings up her crash at Charlotte as a preemptive strike before Bill broke out the video.  Maybe her new nickname will be Quickdraw. 4)  It turns out that Loni is also an instructor at B.R.A.K.E.S.  We have been with our son and it has helped him and thousands of other new drivers to learn so much more than most driving classes.  We hope will have someone from the B.R.A.K.E.S. program on soon. 5)  Loni raced with WRL last year and will be driving the Swamp Dragon Hot Sauce ND Miata in the MX5 Cup next week.  Loni’s approach to learning is very impressive.  She is trying to learn as much as she can, in as many areas as she can, to help her become a better, faster, and well-rounded driver that can assist in any way needed to help the team perform.  6)  Loni’s perspective on racing and her philosophy shows that she has chosen the correct path and is headed for a great career. 7)  The benefits and the accompanying pressures of being an Unser at the race track, as well as how her family is coping with their daughter racing. 8)  We also cover how Loni’s background with downhill skiing and racing compliments her approach to track driving.  There is a great deal of similarities that may not be apparent initially. 9)  Loni also goes into how it was balancing her college studies with her racing schedule.  We think she may still be catching up on her sleep. 10)  We bet that you cannot guess what Loni’s tap root car is.  Garage Heroes In Training decals will be sent to anyone who guesses it before listening.  Two free decals if you actually listen. 11)  We think we may have a business idea to help fund Loni’s racing teams.  12)  One of Loni’s favorite racing drivers is Katherine Legge.  We are hoping to have her on the podcast at some point.  We apologize ahead of time to Miss Legge, lol. 13)  We show a bit of why we edit.  Still in training. 14)  Another vote for us going to VIR.  It must happen this year.

Racing star Loni Unser offers safety tips for your next roadtrip. Dr. Rhonda Meadows from Ayin Health Solutions talks about how to make sure you are negative for Covid-19 before going into work. Dr. Ryan Loss is a clinical psychologist from Connecticut Behavioral Health shares with us what we can do to address the feelings we may be having with the new school year. Dr. Anne Reily is a pediatric oncologist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and talks about how pediatric cancer treatment has changed over the last decade.

The newest member from the first family in auto racing, Loni Unser joins the show to talk her start in racing, getting into the family business and what's on the horizon for her.

Loni Unser is a racer in the World Racing League, NASA, and the MX5 Cup Series. She is the 4th generation racer of the legendary Unser family. 

Loni Unser is a full-time college student with an athletic background in downhill skiing and other line-finding sports. She recently discovered her talent for racing. Perhaps this is because her family DNA includes the most winning family in motorsports history and one of America’s premier auto-racing dynasties. Her father is Indy racer, Johnny Unser, a past Cars Yeah guest, and the list of Unser racers is long, indeed.  With the support of her famous family, she is rapidly becoming a threat on track. She currently contests the Spec Miata series in the NASA Rocky Mountain Region, while also competing in select World Racing League endurance races. She is targeting the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge as well as the Mazda Global MX-5 Cup.

Johnny Unser of the legendary Unser racing family, and his daughter, Loni (a rookie racer herself), both know how important tires are for safe, successful driving. Johnny Unser is a member of the famous Unser racing dynasty and is currently Partner and Vice President of Precision Dynamics, a company that specializes in creating compelling engagements … Continue reading Johnny and Loni Unser →