When Al Unser Jr. was a kid, the urge to be a race driver kept him from being as good a student as he might have been.
Now he's a graduate student of racing, but given the chance to grade himself on the IndyCar season so far, Unser still comes up with mediocre marks."C-plus," Unser said recently during a test session at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
"I'm still in the points (race). I've made some mistakes, and the team has made some mistakes during the season, and on top of that some bad luck has gone against us."
Indeed, Unser is still in the points. Specifically, he's second to Jimmy Vasser, 17 points back with three races to go, including the Texaco/Havoline 200 on Sunday at Road America.
But second or not, the 1996 season to date continues to draw low marks for one big reason: Unser has not yet won a race.
The Miller 200 at the Milwaukee Mile was perhaps his best chance and, consequently, the best example of Unser's bad luck.
In that race, a late caution flag gobbled up Unser's lead and put rival Michael Andretti right on his rear wheels, and Andretti took advantage by motoring around on the restart to win the race.
"Milwaukee we had sewed up, and . . . we lost that because it was a short trophy dash, so it was bad luck that the yellow came out and we'd prepared for a long run," Unser said.
But that's just one example.
"Toronto I had a pretty good race car, and (Gil) de Ferran hit me from behind and put me into (Bobby) Rahal on the first corner," Unser said. "There went my wing. Nothing I could do about that. Bad luck."
Of course, Unser learned long ago that racing success requires a lot more than luck. It takes driving skill, teamwork and the proper equipment.
Unser and Marlboro Team Penske are virtually unmatched in the first two departments, but they've had problems in the last. Their Penske cars, Ilmor Mercedes-Benz engines and Goodyear tires have been strong and consistent all season, but the Reynard cars, Honda engines and Firestone tires all have been better at one time or another.
And nothing can be taken away from the season Vasser and his rookie teammate, Alex Zanardi, have had with Chip Ganassi's Reynard-Honda-Firestone team.
Zanardi is up to third place in the standings. Vasser won four of the first six races, and seemed to be on his way to putting the title away early.
"Vasser pretty much did (dominate) at the beginning of the season, and they lost momentum or whatever," Unser said. "Zanardi's doing well right now, so maybe the luck that Jimmy had at the beginning of the season has shifted over to Alex's car."
Unser is still waiting for a bit to shift in his direction.
Should the 34-year-old driver from Albuquerque, N.M., be kept out of the winner's circle this season, it would mark the third time in his 14 full seasons of Indy-car racing.
Unser, a two-time PPG Cup champion, hasn't been shut out since 1987, when he finished 13th in the standings. He has won as many eight races in a single season, his 1994 title run.
But it's too early to talk about Unser being shut out, according to Andretti, a longtime friend who finished second to Unser in the 1990 title race.
"Don't worry about him," Andretti said. "He'll get one when he really needs it."
Unser would like to think so, but his luck, the impending end of the season and the tough competition have him wondering.
"It's a tough season," Unser said. "I've never seen the Indy Car World Series as competitive as it is now.
"The top teams down to the bottom are much, much closer in quality of workmanship. The cars are immaculate, they're well prepared, the engineering on them is at its best, and it makes for close competition that way."
Roger Penske's team may not be on the very top right now, but Unser is convinced it will be again soon.
So forget about all those rumors that were floating around earlier, Unser said. He's not planning on buying an Indy Racing League team or trying his luck in NASCAR.
He plans to finish this season strong and then be back with Penske for another run at the championship next year.
An A or A-plus season could be right around the corner.