Jerry Unser: The Rise of a Championship Dynasty

Honolulu, HI, September 11, 2008 Production has begun on an independent documentary film about Jerry Unser. Jerry: The Rise of a Championship Dynasty. Motorsports journalist and photographer Earl Ma who lost his 3-year battle with cancer back in June 2007 wrote the script, which depicts Unsers life while he was in the Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor and racing stockcars in Honolulu Stadium. Today would have been Mas 37th birthday and producers have decided that launching production today would be the best way to celebrate his life.

Jerry Unser (oldest brother to Louie, Bobby and Al) raced stockcars along side Hawaii drivers in Honolulu Stadium during the early to mid 1950s. While racing in Hawaii Unser worked his way up the grid to become NASCAR champion and became a local hero and celebrity. At the time stockcar racing drew more spectators than any other stick and ball sport played at the stadium, which was known by its nick name the Termite Palace.

Initially Ma was going to write a book about Unsers life but when he showed friends who worked in the TV business the draft, they suggested that the writings be used for a documentary film. By 2004 Ma had gathered most of the old photos and he was already and friends with the Unser family. After returning from the 2004 Indianapolis 500 Ma was diagnosed with thymoma, which is a form of cancer. His missed the 2005 Indy 500 because of chemotherapy and radiation treatment but returned in 2006 and 2007 as a journalist and gather more material for the film. As ill as he was, he continued to cover all sorts of motorsports for various media sources. In 2007 the cancer spread to his spine and confined him to a wheelchair but that didnt stop him from traveling to Indy in 2007. The same day he returned home he was admitted to the hospital, and he passed away some days later.

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