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This from the Indianapolis Star pretty much summarizes the situation as of today:
For all of you who believe that Unser "deserves" a ride, please note that virtually every significant team in CART and the IRL has taken a pass on him. So have several major NASCAR teams. Whether you like the fact or not, not every one of these teams is a bad judge of drivers. Some of the situation just might be due to the driver himself, don't you think? 
Al Unser Jr. is running out of opportunities to compete in the Indy Racing League this season.
With his former team, Galles Racing, sidelined without a major sponsor, Unser has been shopped to several other IRL teams. One of the series' best teams recently passed on Unser.
Tom Kelley said he told IRL president Tony George there weren't enough good General Motors engines to field a three-car team. Kelley doesn't want to bump Scott Sharp or Greg Ray, who are signed through 2005.
"I told Tony I'd love to help out, but I've got my hands full," Kelley said Monday. "I'm worried about having enough engines for two cars, let alone three.
"The other thing is, we're just now getting things going well with Delphi (Sharp's sponsor). I don't want to strain the relationship."
Delphi officials prefer to sponsor just one car after helping Kelley with Mark Dismore's last year.
Kelley said the engine predicament is based on the new Chevrolet engines his team is using not being as fast in testing as last year's Oldsmobile, which does not have an abundance of spare parts. Sharp and Ray were consistently slower than the Infinitis of Eddie Cheever's team in last week's tests at Fontana, Calif., and Phoenix.
Kelley said Unser had "some sponsors," although he did not know the extent of them. Unser could not be reached for comment.
Kelley said he would consider running Unser at the Indianapolis 500 if the two-time Indy winner was still without a permanent ride.
Unser also was turned down by A.J. Foyt last month. With the season just two weeks away, Unser appears to have only a couple of options left.
Cheever considers Unser a finalist for his team's second car, but South African rookie Tomas Scheckter was among the fastest five drivers in all three days of testing last week. He was quicker than Cheever each day.
With his former team, Galles Racing, sidelined without a major sponsor, Unser has been shopped to several other IRL teams. One of the series' best teams recently passed on Unser.
Tom Kelley said he told IRL president Tony George there weren't enough good General Motors engines to field a three-car team. Kelley doesn't want to bump Scott Sharp or Greg Ray, who are signed through 2005.
"I told Tony I'd love to help out, but I've got my hands full," Kelley said Monday. "I'm worried about having enough engines for two cars, let alone three.
"The other thing is, we're just now getting things going well with Delphi (Sharp's sponsor). I don't want to strain the relationship."
Delphi officials prefer to sponsor just one car after helping Kelley with Mark Dismore's last year.
Kelley said the engine predicament is based on the new Chevrolet engines his team is using not being as fast in testing as last year's Oldsmobile, which does not have an abundance of spare parts. Sharp and Ray were consistently slower than the Infinitis of Eddie Cheever's team in last week's tests at Fontana, Calif., and Phoenix.
Kelley said Unser had "some sponsors," although he did not know the extent of them. Unser could not be reached for comment.
Kelley said he would consider running Unser at the Indianapolis 500 if the two-time Indy winner was still without a permanent ride.
Unser also was turned down by A.J. Foyt last month. With the season just two weeks away, Unser appears to have only a couple of options left.
Cheever considers Unser a finalist for his team's second car, but South African rookie Tomas Scheckter was among the fastest five drivers in all three days of testing last week. He was quicker than Cheever each day.
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