Louis Unser and William K. Vanderbilt join Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Class of 2025
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) announced today at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion that Louis Unser and William K. Vanderbilt are the Historic Inductees in the Hall’s 37th Induction class that will be ushered into the Hall of Fame of all motorsports next March.
Unser and Vanderbilt join seven other members of the Class of 2025 who were announced in April at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: Skip Barber (Sports Cars), Miguel Duhamel (Motorcycles), Carl Haas (Open Wheel), Ed Iskenderian (At Large), Dale Jarrett (Stock Cars), Tony Schumacher (Drag Racing) and Bill Stroppe (Off Road).
The 37th Annual MSHFA Induction Ceremony Presented by Toyota Racing takes place March 10 – 11, 2025 with an all-new location at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort in the heart of Daytona Beach, Florida.
The Historic Category is for nominees whose main motorsports achievements occurred prior to 1960. Induction is decided by a straight vote among 40+ historians, authors and experts.
“It was an honor to announce our Historic Inductees for the first time at last year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion – Earl B. Gilmore and Phil “Ted Tappett” Walters – and now we are delighted to not only be welcomed back to the Rolex Reunion but to also unveil another pair of American racing legends truly deserving of a place in the Hall of Fame of ALL American motorsports,” said Motorsports Hall of Fame of America President George Levy. “Like Gilmore and Walters, Louie Unser and William K. Vanderbilt typify the timeless and uniquely American stories of achievement and greatness, and it is a privilege to have a chance to preserve and celebrate their achievements and values for generations to come.”
The patriarch of the Unser racing clan, Louie Unser (1896 – 1979) won the fabled Pikes Peak Hillclimb nine times between 1934 and 1953, (1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1953) to establish the family dynasty. The “senior” Louis Unser, uncle to inductees Bobby Unser (MSHFA Class of 1994) and Al Unser (MSHFA Class of 1991), was born in Illinois and relocated to Colorado Springs with his family in 1909.
Young Louis was fascinated with vehicles, which resulted in him and brothers, Joe Unser and Jerry Unser, driving a motorcycle to the top of Pikes Peak, a mountain considered impossible to summit, in 1915. In 1916, a road was built to the top that would become home to the annual 12.4-mile “Race to the Clouds.” After his first try in 1926, Louis ran America’s most famous hillclimb an amazing 42 times, making his last start in 1967 at age 71. He paid his final entry fee with his social security check!
Louis also raced roadsters for Bill Kenz in Colorado, passing his rookie test at Indy, but he never entered the 500. The Unser family stamp on the Brickyard was later made by his nephews Bobby and Al, and later Al Unser Jr. (MSHFA Class of 2009), but it is fair to say their path to Indy glory might have never happened without “Uncle Louie.” His 2025 enshrinement will make the Unsers the only family with four individual inductees in the MSHFA. Bobby, Al and Al Jr shared that honor as a trio the last few years with NASCAR’s Allison family after Davey Allison joined his father Bobby Allison (MSHFA Class of 1992) and Uncle Donnie Allison (MSHFA Class of 2011) as a member of the MSHFA Class of 2021.
In 1904, William Kissam Vanderbilt II (1878 – 1944) became one of the foundational figures in American motorsports when he launched the Vanderbilt Cup, the first major trophy in U.S. racing. A lasting icon to this day, the Vanderbilt Cup was introduced a full two years before the initial French Grand Prix and seven before the first Indianapolis 500. The Vanderbilt Cup spurred the involvement of American manufacturers in motorsports and attracted the world’s top racers. Winners included inductees or nominees George Robertson, Ralph De Palma (MSHFA Class of 1992), Louis Chevrolet (MSHFA Class of 1995) and Dario Resta. The races were held in New York, Savannah, Milwaukee, Santa Monica and finally San Francisco before being halted for WWI.
Heir to a railroading fortune, Vanderbilt had previously established himself as a world-class driver, scoring several noteworthy victories and finishing third against top-flight European competition in the 318-mile International Circuit des Ardennes in France in 1902. He broke Henry Ford’s 999 land speed record for the measured mile by averaging 92.307 mph on the sand at Daytona Beach in January 1904, piloting a 90 horsepower Mercedes racer, in addition to seven other U.S. marks for distances from 5 to 50 miles.
The Class of 2025 honorees will be formally brought into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on Tuesday, March 11, in the 37th Annual Induction Ceremony Presented by Toyota Racing, the traditional black-tie gala that is the crowning event of the two-day, multi-function MSHFA Induction Celebration. The Induction Ceremony, which was sold out this year, will be preceded the night before on Monday, March 10, by the traditional “Heroes of Horsepower” reception and strolling dinner at the MSHFA Museum on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway. PNC Bank sponsored this year’s Heroes of Horsepower reception that was another sellout event.
Daytime events include the annual Inductee Welcome Luncheon on Monday, presented by Firestone this year, and the annual Inductee Brunch on Tuesday morning. Next year’s Historic inductees Unser and Vanderbilt will be ushered into the MSHFA as a featured highlight of the brunch, which was sponsored by American Honda this year.
Through April’s Class of 2024 induction, 297 “Heroes of Horsepower” are currently in the MSHFA, a number that will grow to 306 with the 37th Induction Class.
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