Al Unser Sr., Ray Evernham add charity vehicles to Motostalgia’s Brickyard auction in Indianapolis

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The 1964 Plymouth NASCAR racer from Ray Evernham was driven by country music star Marty Robbins | Motostalgia
The 1964 Plymouth NASCAR racer from Ray Evernham was driven by country music star Marty Robbins | Motostalgia photos

Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Al Unser Sr. and legendary NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham are each donating vehicles from their personal collections to auction for charity at Motostalgia’s sale June 18 during the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association Brickyard Invitational.

The Indianapolis Brickyard Auction at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Pagoda Palace will feature a selection of 57 collector cars, including such finds as a 1953 Porsche 356 Pre-A coupe, a 2000 Ferrari 595 Maranello showing just 3,000 miles, and the earliest car in the auction, a 1924 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8.

Al Unser's Pro Street Motorcycle was built has a tribute to his Indy-winning race car
Al Unser’s Pro Street Motorcycle was built has a tribute to his 1971 Indy-winning race car

Unser’s offering is a unique custom Pro Street Motorcycle built as a tribute to the Johnny Lightning Special race car that he drove to victory in the 1971 Indy 500. The chopper was constructed in 2009 by Racing Innovations of Oklahoma City, incorporating actual parts from Indy and Sprint cars, including 18×8-inch magnesium wheels from a 1963 Novi.

The bike, which is painted in the colors and motif of Unser’s 1971 Indy racer, will be auctioned to benefit the Unser Discovery Campus, Inc., an educational non-profit that includes a nationally top-100-ranked charter school, a school for autistic children, the Challenger Learning Center of New Mexico, a driver’s education program and the Unser Racing Museum.   Unser serves as president of the board of directors for the non-profit organization.

Evernham will present a piece of motorsports and country-music history for auction, a 1964 Plymouth NASCAR Modified Sportsman that was raced by country-music superstar Marty Robbins, whose competition career spanned 1966 through 1982. The car, which Robbins raced at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, was restored by Ray Evernham Enterprises.

Proceeds from the sale of Robbins’ race car will support the Evernham Family’s Racing for a Reason Foundation, with proceeds going to The Autism Society of North Carolina’s “IGNITE” program, a community center for young adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome.

Evernham also is bringing three other vintage race cars to the Motorstalgia auction for non-charity sale.

For information about Motostalgia’s Brickyard sale, visit the auction website.

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Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.