Although he was given the win back on appeal, Unser paid a significant price for the controversy. His CART results for the season slumped, he was branded a cheater by the press, and Unser once estimated that the commercial endorsements he lost because of the delayed result cost him $1 million. The outcome of the controversial race caused a bitter Unser to retire from racing at the end of the year. In a 1982 interview Unser refused to come out of retirement and said he retired because following the controversy he became disillusioned with auto-racing and lost his passion for driving race-cars. "Regardless of the outcome it's been ruined for me. I would paint out racing if I painted my future," said Unser in an interview at the time. Unser sat out the 1982 IndyCar season but planned to make a comeback in 1983 driving for Patrick Racing (the team that was stripped of the win). However he changed his mind and retired in 1983.