INDIANAPOLIS – Three-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver Bobby Unser thought he was having dinner with friends at a restaurant located a few miles from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

But instead of feasting on huge helpings of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, biscuits and apple butter, Unser ended up being the main course.

A surprise Bobby Unser “roast” was held Wednesday night at the Stutz Building in downtown Indianapolis. By the time this roast was over, Unser was “extra crispy.”

More than 150 of his racing friends turned out to surprise Unser, 84, on the 50th anniversary of his first Indianapolis 500 win in 1968. The event was organized by long-time racing journalist Robin Miller of NBCSN and RACER.com and BorgWarner’s Steve Shunck.

When Unser arrived, he thought he was stopping by a charity event for a few minutes and had no idea until he was seated on the front stage that he was being honored.

“All of this is for me?” Unser asked with a surprised look.

What followed was a laundry list of Unser’s past deeds and misdeeds, many that have added to the legend that is “Uncle Bobby.”

The first group of roasters included Unser’s former team owner Roger Penske, former teammate and four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears, former competitor and rival Johnny Rutherford and 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones.

After a brief intermission, the heat was turned up on Unser by his family, including nephews and former drivers Al Unser Jr. and Johnny Unser.

There were many candid, off-the-cuff remarks that proved highly entertaining and better kept private, but it was all part of the lore that has made Unser one of the most colorful characters in auto racing history.

“Rick Mears asked me the other day, ‘What are the boundaries?’” Miller said. “I told Rick: ‘There are no boundaries. Let it fly.’”

Some tales left Unser red-faced, either from laughter or embarrassment – or a little of both. Penske in particular had the crowd roaring with some of his jabs at his former driver.

There also were stories about how Unser helped drivers and teammates, even when he wasn’t necessarily trying to help.

“Bobby was a great teammate because he didn’t want to tell me anything, and I didn’t want to ask him anything,” Mears, the four-time 500 winner, said. “I had an ego, too. He was really a big help as long as I was in a 4-year-old car.

“When we were teammates and I was just getting started, Bobby would never share much information about the race car, but he really told me more than he realized. I learned more from Bobby Unser, but he doesn’t know how much he taught me.”

Unser Jr., a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, recalled what it was like growing up as Bobby Unser’s nephew. Bobby and his brother, four-time Indy 500 winner Al, lived across the street from each other in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“I came home from school one day, and my dad was livid,” Unser Jr. said. “I asked, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘I was over at your uncle’s. I’ve been waiting for two weeks for a set of tires that I ordered for my truck. I walked over there for another reason, and there they are sitting in his garage.’

“The UPS truck came to deliver them to my dad and because my dad wasn’t home, they automatically went over to Uncle Bobby’s to drop them off, and when they get dropped off at Uncle Bobby’s, they stay at Uncle Bobby’s.

“My dad was saying, ‘That’s the last time,’ going on and on.”

Bobby Unser took the tales in stride despite being the focus of the jokes and stories. He credited Jones for being the key to getting his legendary career off the ground.

“Thank you for coming to this,” Unser said to the appreciative crowd. “This really, really means a lot to me.

“What a night. I can’t really believe this. This is a deal I never expected in my life. It was the nicest, nicest evening I ever remember.”