For Loni Unser, racing has always been intertwined with family history.

As a member of one of motorsport’s most recognizable families, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Pikes Peak are more than legendary venues. They are places where generations of Unsers have built a legacy.

“It means everything to our family,” Unser said of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Indy, for a long time, felt like home to me because, growing up, I would go almost every single year to the Indy 500, and that’s where our family reunions would happen. That’s where we’d all get together, and that was the race I grew up on—the Indy 500.”

“So even to this day, I am tuning into the practices, tuning into qualifying and tuning into the race. Gosh, what an epic race this year. That was so fun to watch.”

Unser’s own experiences at Indianapolis have only strengthened that connection.

“My personal experience with Indy, kind of growing up and starting racing, was pretty cool because I’ve gotten to race there a few times,” Unser said. “I first got to race there in a 356 vintage Porsche, and that was really, really fun. I’ve done a little bit of coaching there, and I’m really excited that SRO is going there in October because I haven’t raced there in a long time in a big series.”

“For me, anytime you walk onto the grounds of Indianapolis, it just feels special,” Unser said. “It doesn’t matter what time of year it is. The month of May especially, but any time of the year, it feels incredible to be at Indy. The month of May really is the best.”

One of the biggest storylines during this year’s Month of May was Katherine Legge becoming the first woman to attempt the Memorial Day Double, competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. For Unser, Legge has long been someone she admired long before beginning her own racing career.

“To start off, I think Katherine doing the Double is absolutely amazing,” Unser said. “Being the first woman to do it is incredible.”

“For me, Katherine was one of the biggest women in racing that I looked up to when I started racing. It was always kind of like, ‘Oh, Lonni, who do you want to model your career after?’ Not necessarily model my career after, but who do I look up to most? Even before I started racing, my answer was always Katherine because I think what she’s done in the sport is huge, and it’s really, really cool to watch her doing her thing.”

“The Double is not an easy task, and it’s cool because I hope young girls can see that and think, ‘Wow, I could attempt the Double one day too.’ It’s just really, really cool.”

“Everything she’s doing with ELF is phenomenal and is reaching more women across all walks of life who want to get more involved in racing. I think her partnership with ELF has helped spread that message, and her doing the Double has helped spread that message as well.”

While Legge’s accomplishment inspired many, it also prompted discussion about whether Indianapolis could someday be part of Unser’s own racing future.

“To think that maybe that could be me in the Indy 500 one day is really cool,” Unser said. “I would definitely do it if everything was right.”

“I don’t think it’s very easy to do it as an off race. If there was a really good situation and enough budget to truly give it a good shot, then I would want to do it.”

“The situation would have to be perfect, but if it was, I’d absolutely give it a try.”

For now, however, Unser’s focus remains on her 2026 GT4 America campaign with Kelly-Moss, where she shares the No. 24 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport with Ashley Freiberg.

“It’s just such a cool thing to be competing in SRO GT4 America alongside Ashley with Kelly-Moss and our amazing partners—PenFed, Speedway Motors, Mobil 1, Padgett, Radius, Acumatica—we’ve got a lot of really good partners on board,” Unser said.

“Kelly-Moss is such a premier team that it’s just really cool. Driving a Kelly-Moss GT4 car, I still have to pinch myself because I never could have expected that this is where I’d be, and I’m so, so, so thankful that I get to be here.”

A major part of that experience has been working alongside Freiberg, whose extensive racing background has helped accelerate Unser’s growth in sports car racing.

“Ashley as a teammate has been incredible,” Unser said. “She has such a wealth of knowledge from her racing career that I certainly draw from. I ask her advice all the time.”

“We have a really good form of communication. We’re very open with each other, which I think is incredibly important when it comes to having teammates in motorsports.”

“Every time we do a pit stop practice, for example, we finish it and ask, ‘What went right? What went wrong? How can we improve?’ It’s the same thing in the car.”

“After every session, Ashley and I do a debrief together. What went right? What can we do better?”

Unser believes that collaborative approach has been one of the keys to the team’s continued development throughout the season.

“What I’ve absolutely loved this season driving with Ashley is that the way we speak about the car is different, but oftentimes we feel things pretty similarly,” Unser said.

“I think she is incredibly in tune with the car, and her feedback is incredibly good. So it’s awesome for me to hear her feedback and compare it to what I feel in the car as well.”

“The more we collaborate together on how we’re going to make the car even better each weekend in terms of setup has been super cool because, in the single-make stuff, you don’t always get that opportunity. It’s just you and what you feel.”

“It’s been cool because I think with both of our heads together, we can make the car even better.”

The opportunity to compete with Kelly-Moss is something Unser does not take lightly, especially given the organization’s reputation throughout sports car racing.

“I mean, it’s unmatched. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to be on a team like Kelly-Moss,” Unser said. “Like I said, every weekend I feel like I have to pinch myself because I am surrounded by the best of the best, all the way from the drivers to the team owners to my car chief and engineer.”

“They’re all experts in their field, and the amount that I learn every single weekend is incredible. I couldn’t see myself growing as much as I have with any other race team.”

Unser’s connection with Kelly-Moss dates back several years before she officially joined the program.

“It’s funny because I met Kelly-Moss, Victoria, and Andy back in 2022 when I did a shootout with them,” Unser said. “I wanted to go into Porsche Sprint Challenge, and that didn’t quite align with what they wanted to do with the shootout. Ultimately, they picked somebody else.”

“It was funny because I wasn’t even disappointed that I didn’t win the shootout. Victoria called me afterward, and she was heartbroken. She felt terrible. I told her, ‘It’s okay. I’m going to figure out how to drive for you guys. I wasn’t worried at all, which was kind of crazy because you would think after not winning it that I would be upset. But there was just something in me that knew it didn’t matter. I was still going to find a way to race with them. It took a couple of years, but I am so thrilled we were able to make it happen.”

Today, the relationship extends far beyond simply being part of the same race team.

“Being with the team over the last few years, everybody has become family,” Unser said. “It’s more than a race team to me. We all get along so well, and there’s just such a special environment at Kelly-Moss. I’m so grateful for it. They’re some of my best friends. They’re family. It’s really cool. To be able to share a tent with incredible drivers and work with amazing coaches throughout the last few years has pushed me to be better every single day.”

Before arriving in GT4 America, Unser built much of her sports car racing foundation through endurance competition in World Racing League, where she captured a national championship in 2021 with Round 3 Racing.

Looking back, she credits those experiences with helping shape the driver she is today.

“Gosh, I look back on my days in World Racing League with Round 3 Racing, and again, it’s something I’m so grateful for,” Unser said. “Round 3 Racing was also a team that very much felt like family to me. We all grew very close, and everybody wanted to do well.”

“In terms of my driving, WRL was absolutely invaluable because it taught me how to be in the car for up to three hours and make no mistakes. That has carried over tremendously to what I do now because mistakes can cost you positions, and mistakes can cost you races. It taught me how to maintain focus for long periods of time. It taught me how to stay sharp and avoid getting mentally fatigued. That ability to stay focused throughout a long stint is something I still rely on today.”

Unser continues to follow the growth of grassroots endurance racing and believes the level of competition in World Racing League is stronger than ever.

“The thing I love so much about grassroots racing is the fact that you’re going to find great drivers there,” Unser said. “WRL has grown to the point where the talent level is incredibly high. The drivers are really, really good, and the racing is very clean. It’s fun because you get to spend so much time in the car. I think it’s a phenomenal place for drivers of any level.”

“You often see very accomplished drivers racing in WRL because it provides high-quality racing at a cost that isn’t nearly as crazy as a lot of professional racing has become. I absolutely love it. If anybody ever called me to do a WRL race, I’d be in the car immediately, excited and ready to go.”

Another key chapter in Unser’s development came in Mazda MX-5 Cup, where she became the first woman to record back-to-back top-10 finishes in the highly competitive single-make championship.

She also had the opportunity to race under the guidance of Shea Holbrook, someone she still greatly admires today.

“I love that you mentioned Shea (Holbrook, BSI Racing Team Owner) because I actually raced for Shea’s team,” Unser said. “Shea is an absolute force to be reckoned with. She’s really, really good at what she does, and she strives for nothing but the best. That’s the kind of person I want to be around.”

“She’s expanding so quickly and competing in so many different series beyond MX-5 Cup. She’s definitely someone to keep an eye on because she’s already doing big things and is only going to continue growing. Like I said, she’s a force to be reckoned with.

“I was lucky enough to race for her, and MX-5 Cup itself was so much fun. It was the most intense racing I’ve ever been a part of. I tell people all the time, if you want to watch a great race, tune into MX-5 Cup because you’re going to get top-level entertainment throughout the entire field. There’s always exciting racing, crazy moves, and incredible battles. It just puts a smile on your face.”

“The bump drafting and drafting in those cars are insane. At Daytona, a draft was worth roughly three seconds a lap. It’s all about figuring out how to maximize the draft. Even qualifying is fascinating. I don’t think there is a more stressful place to qualify a car than MX-5 Cup because you’re constantly balancing clean air, finding a draft and avoiding traffic that could ruin your lap. The mental calculations involved are crazy, but it’s so much fun.”

Unser believes the intensity of MX-5 Cup is one of the reasons so many successful drivers emerge from the series and continue climbing the motorsports ladder.

“That’s why you see drivers like Connor Zilisch coming through MX-5 Cup and finding success elsewhere,” Unser said. “I raced with Connor back when I was in the series, and that was really fun. He’s a great kid and a true class act. It’s been cool to watch where his career has gone.”

“That’s also why you see so many successful drivers come out of MX-5 Cup. It’s always interesting to watch accomplished drivers enter the series because it challenges everybody. The cars aren’t easy to drive. Honestly, I think they’re some of the more difficult cars I’ve driven, but they’re also some of the most fun.”

“I’m so grateful for that period in my career because it taught me so much. It taught me how to be comfortable racing inches away from other cars and how to handle intense competition every lap.”

While MX-5 Cup and GT4 America have played major roles in her development, there may be no event that carries more personal significance for Unser than the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

A four-time competitor on America’s Mountain, Unser earned a third-place finish in class in 2025 and remains determined to return to the event in the future.

“Pikes Peak means everything to me,” Unser said. “I tell people all the time that it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done, and I truly believe that. I’ve been fortunate enough to do a lot of really cool things in racing, but Pikes Peak is on another level. There’s something so unique about that event.”

One memory in particular still stands out above the rest.

“I remember my first year competing there,” Unser said. “The way testing works at Pikes Peak is that you run the course in sections. You’ll either run the bottom, middle or top section. Everyone completes their runs, then everyone comes back down together.”

“I remember coming down from my first run through the middle section—the W’s, which are visually one of the most intimidating parts of the course. As I came down the mountain, I had tears in my eyes. That was the year my Uncle Bobby and Uncle Al passed away, and I just felt like they were there with me. I felt like my family was looking down on me, and getting to follow in their footsteps was incredibly emotional. Growing up, I heard so many stories about Pikes Peak. To actually experience it and create my own stories there has been really special.”

Even though she is not competing this year, Unser is already focused on finding a way back to the mountain. Unser even got a chance to test at Pikes Peak a week back to fulfill the void.

“Even though I’m taking this year off, I’m doing everything I can to get back there in 2027,” Unser said. “The last few years, we’ve been in a really good position to do something special and potentially break records, but we’ve had some bad luck.”

“Last year, the course was shortened and only ran about a third of the way up the mountain. That was disappointing because we were especially strong in the upper sections.”

“My main competitor, Jimmy Ford, and I were going back and forth all month. He was really fast at the bottom, we were about even in the middle, and I was strongest up top. I was excited to see how it would all play out, but unfortunately we never got that opportunity. Jimmy did a fantastic job, and he’s been a phenomenal competitor.”

For Unser, however, the attraction of Pikes Peak extends far beyond the competition itself.

“There are just so many cool things about Pikes Peak,” she said. “For fans, it’s like a car show, a hike and a race all wrapped into one. You’re surrounded by incredible mountain scenery while watching some of the most unique competition in motorsports. I tell everybody that if they ever have the chance to race Pikes Peak, they should do it. It’s one of the coolest experiences in all of motorsports.”

As her sports car racing career continues to progress, Unser has her sights set on the next step up the endurance racing ladder.

One of her long-term goals remains reaching the highest levels of sports car competition, including the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

“I feel incredibly fortunate because I think I’m on a really good path right now,” Unser said. “One thing I would really love to do next year is compete in Michelin Pilot Challenge in a GT4 car. I think that’s a fantastic championship and a natural next step. The races are longer, and I really enjoy endurance-style racing.”

For Unser, the appeal of endurance racing extends well beyond simply spending more time behind the wheel.

“One of the things I love about longer races is how much they involve the entire team,” Unser said. “In sprint racing, the team is still incredibly important. They work hard to prepare the car and get you to pit lane. But once the race starts, it’s largely in the driver’s hands.”

“In endurance racing, everybody continues to play an active role throughout the event. It becomes about strategy, pit stops, communication, consistency, and teamwork. I love that aspect of it. How do we optimize the pit stops? How do we make no mistakes? How do we maximize strategy? Those are all things that I really enjoy.”

“The three-hour race we ran at COTA with SRO was so much fun because it allowed more of those elements to come into play. I genuinely love longer-form racing.”

Unser believes her current role with Kelly-Moss has positioned her well for whatever opportunities may come next.

“Being with Kelly-Moss has been incredible,” Unser said. “I would race for that team forever if I could. That would be my goal. They’re just fantastic. It’s a fantastic group of people who want to achieve excellence, and selfishly, I feel like I can learn so much from them every single weekend. I want to absorb as much information, knowledge, and experience as I possibly can whenever I’m around them. It’s just a phenomenal place to be.”

As for the remainder of the 2026 season, Unser’s goals are straightforward: continue improving, continue learning, and hopefully celebrate some podium finishes along the way.

“Of course, I would love to stand on the podium and ultimately win in SRO GT4 America,” Unser said. “It’s a really competitive series, and there are a lot of phenomenal drivers out there, so we definitely have to keep our heads down and continue working.”

“But being able to stand on the podium and share that moment with Ashley, Kelly-Moss, and the entire team would be something I would be incredibly grateful for.”

“Beyond results, I think my biggest goal is continuing to learn as much as I possibly can every single weekend,” Unser said. How do I make the most of this incredible opportunity? That’s really what I’m focused on.”

That mindset extends beyond racing itself and into a mission that both Unser and Kelly-Moss hope will inspire the next generation of competitors.

The No. 24 Porsche’s eye-catching “Be Your Own Hero” livery is part of Kelly-Moss’s Drive Forward initiative, a program designed to help bring more people from diverse backgrounds into motorsports while encouraging young women to pursue careers in racing.

“It’s something we’re very proud of,” Unser said. “Kelly-Moss has a program called Drive Forward, which is designed to get people from all backgrounds involved in racing. For us, that focus is helping bring more women into motorsports. Victoria Thomas at Kelly-Moss helped create the ‘Be Your Own Hero’ program, and she had this brilliant idea.”

“She started thinking about what gets people excited and engaged in racing. A lot of times, it’s cool liveries. You look at Rexy from AO Racing, for example. That program has created such a fan following because people connect with it. It gets people excited, especially kids.”

“So, our idea became centered around young girls. Ashley and I want to be positive role models. We want to show young girls that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. The goal was to create something visually exciting that would attract attention and get young girls interested enough to come over and learn more. Once they do, that’s where we can help spread the message that they can achieve anything they want in life.”

For Unser, that message is especially important because she understands firsthand that success in racing rarely follows a straight path.

“People see that I come from a racing family, and they assume the path was straightforward,” Unser said. “But honestly, my family discouraged me from racing at first because they knew how difficult it could be. The highs in racing are incredibly high, but the lows can be very low. It’s financially difficult. It’s emotionally difficult.”

“I certainly didn’t have the funding to race in SRO GT4 America on my own. I couldn’t be here without incredible partners like Speedway Motors, PenFed, Acumatica, Padgett, and Mobil 1.

“Ashley has a very similar story. She didn’t come from a racing family. She simply fell in love with motorsports and decided she wanted to pursue it. She didn’t necessarily have the funding or background to make it easy, but she found a way.”

Ultimately, that perseverance is what Unser hopes young racers take away from the program.

“That’s the message we want young girls to hear,” Unser said. “You can achieve anything you set your mind to. At the same time, we also want to be honest and tell them that failure is part of the process. It’s inevitable.”

“You’re going to fail. You’re going to make mistakes. Things aren’t always going to go your way. The important thing is learning from those experiences. It’s about taking accountability and asking yourself, ‘What went wrong? How can I improve? What can I do better next time? Because there is no straight path to success. Everybody faces setbacks. The people who ultimately achieve their goals are the people who continue pushing forward, continue learning, and continue believing in themselves despite those setbacks.”

 

Image Courtesy to GT4 America/SRO