Unser Jr unveils monstrous paint scheme for Texas.

There have been days when Al Unser Jr's performance on the race track has been described as 'monstrous' but, come the Excite 500 race at Texas Motor Speedway, Little Al's car will be a monster again...literally.

The paint scheme for the #3 Galles ECR car driven by the American legend has been repainted to carry a theme depicting a legend of another kind entirely. As a part of the new Monsters of the Speedway promotion between Action Performance, Universal Studios Consumer Product Group, and drivers from several auto racing series, including the Indy Racing Northern Light Series, Unser will be carrying the colours of Dracula at the championship finale.

The new paint scheme was unveiled on Unser's car, complete with fog and eerie music, at a press conference on Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway. As the car rolled on to the stage for the unveiling, Little Al, sporting an authentic Dracula cape, stepped from the driver's seat, marking the first time that Indy racing had been involved in such a promotion.

''I am really excited about this new paint scheme and the association with Action Performance,'' the former Indy 500 and CART series champion said, ''I am sorry that Dracula could not be here himself, but this sunshine is a little too bright for him. I told him that he could handle the night stuff, and I will do all the things in the day time!''

The marketing arrangement will help celebrate the world's most famous horror film characters and the upcoming Halloween season and, in honour of the ''Monsters of the Speedway'' program, Action Performance will offer die-cast replicas and related merchandise showcasing the teams and their respective Universal Studios Monsters.

Unser and the #3 Dracula car will be competing in the Indy Racing League season finale - the Excite 500 - on 15 October.