Gary Bettenhausen

Gary Bettenhausen
Bettenhausen in 1984
Nationality	American
Born	(1941-11-18)November 18, 1941 Tinley Park, Illinois, U.S.
Died	March 16, 2014(2014-03-16) (aged 72) Monrovia, Indiana, U.S.
Achievements	1969, 1971 Sprint car champion 1980, 1983 USAC Silver Crown Series champion
Awards	1993 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee 1998 National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductee
Champ Car career
179 races run over 28 years
Best finish	5th (1979)
First race	1966 Bobby Ball Memorial (Phoenix)
Last race	1996 U.S. 500 (Michigan)
First win	1968 Bobby Ball Memorial (Phoenix)
Last win	1973 Texas 200 (College Station)
Wins Podiums Poles 4 32 2

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career
8 races run over 2 years
Best finish	43rd (1974)
First race	1967 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	1974 Motor State 360 (Michigan)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 4 0

Gary Bettenhausen (November 18, 1941 – March 16, 2014) was an American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, graduated in the class of 1962 from Bremen High School (Midlothian, Illinois) in Midlothian, Illinois and at the time of his death resided in Monrovia, Indiana.

Personal life

Bettenhausen's father was Indianapolis 500 and sprint car legend Tony Bettenhausen. His brother was former CART driver and team owner Tony. Another brother, Merle, was injured in a fiery crash.

Bettenhausen died on March 16, 2014 in Monrovia, Indiana.^[1]

Racing career

Midgets

Bettenhausen began as a midget car driver. He finished third in the midget car national points in 1967.^[2] He won the first leg of the Astro Grand Prix in 1969, which was held in the Astrodome. He won the 1967 and 1970 Turkey Night Grand Prix, the 1972 Astro Grand Prix, and the 1976 Hut Hundred, on his way to a total of 27 career wins in USAC midget car competition.

Sprint cars

Bettenhausen won the 1969 and 1971 sprint car championships.^[2]

He won the 1980 and 1983 USAC Dirt Track champions in a Silver Crown car.^[2]

A crash at a Championship Dirt Car race (AKA Silver Crown Car) in Syracuse, New York on July 2, 1974 crushed his left arm and left it paralyzed. He regained enough mobility to drive but never fully recovered from the injury.

Bettenhausen racing in CART at Pocono Raceway in 1984

Indy/Championship Cars & Indianapolis 500

Bettenhausen competed in Champ/Indy style cars from the mid-1960s until 1996. During this time he won six USAC Indy Car races. He made 21 starts in the Indianapolis 500, contesting each event from 1968 until 1982 (with the exception of 1979 when he failed to qualify), and again from 1986 to 1993.^[2] His best finish came in 1980 when he finished third after starting 32nd in the 33-car field.

In the 1972 Indianapolis 500, Bettenhausen led 138 laps (of 200), and appeared on his way to victory. But he suffered a blown engine with only 24 laps remaining, and dropped out to finish 14th.

NASCAR

Bettenhsusen competed in eight career NASCAR Winston Cup events.^[3] He had four Top 10 finishes. His highest career finish was a fourth-place finish at the 1974 Motor State 360 at the Michigan International Speedway.^[3]

Awards

• He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993.
• He was a 1998 inductee in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.^[2]

Motorsports career results

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos	Points
1977		TRE 11	MIL	MOS 21	PIR							26th	20
1978		PIR1	TRE1 3	MOS 17	MIL1 4	TEX 22	MIL2	OMS1 7	OMS2 9	TRE2 28	PIR2 6	8th	453
1979		TEX1 10	IRP 2	MIL1 3	POC	TEX2	MIL2	MIN1	MIN2			7th	330

Indianapolis 500

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

References

External links

• Gary Bettenhausen driver statistics at Racing-Reference