Tony Lee Bettenhausen Jr.[1] (October 30, 1951 – February 14, 2000) was a Champ Car team owner and driver who died in a 2000 plane crash. He was the son of former 14-time Indianapolis 500 competitor Tony Bettenhausen and the brother of 21-time Indy racer Gary Bettenhausen. Another brother, Merle Bettenhausen, was maimed in his only Indy Car start.
As a driver, he started 11 Indianapolis 500 races, scoring a best finish of 7th his rookie year in the 1981 race. He took his trademark No. 16 into team ownership in 1985, initially using March and Lola chassis, then purchasing year-old Penske chassis and then entering and qualifying two new Penskes for the 1993 race. One, number 76, was driven by himself, the other by former Formula One driver Stefan Johansson. A number of successful drivers passed through Bettenhausen's Alumax car, including Johansson for the first few years as well as four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Hélio Castroneves and former IndyCar rookie of the year Patrick Carpentier.
A difficult 1999 plagued by a lack of sponsorship and a series of pay-drivers saw the team take on a new look in 2000 with the hiring of Michel Jourdain Jr. and his Herdez sponsorship.
The family holds the dubious distinction of the most combined starts in the famous race without a victory.
Death
Bettenhausen died in a light plane crash en route from Indianapolis to Homestead, Florida that went down in Harrison County, Kentucky. Bettenhausen's wife Shirley, the daughter of former Indianapolis racing star Jim McElreath, as well as business associates Russ Roberts and Larry Rangel were also killed. His legacy of the team lived on under the ownership of former Pacific Racing F1 team owner Keith Wiggins and was renamed Herdez Competition in 2001, with the No. 16 replaced by Herdez's preference for the No. 55 early in 2002. The team has subsequently gone through further changes in ownership, was once Paul Stoddart's Minardi Team USA, and became Wiggins' HVM Racing competing in the IndyCar Series until the end of the 2012 season. On 11 November, 2015 the team was listed as up for auction officially listing the team as defunct.[2]
^. Archived from the original on 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
^(PDF). Celebrating Automotive Heritage at Crown Hill Cemetery. Crown Hill Cemetery. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
^"Tony Bettenhausen Jr – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
^"Tony Bettenhausen Jr – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
^"Tony Bettenhausen Jr – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
External links
Tony Bettenhausen Jr. driver statistics at Racing-Reference
January 24, 2023
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Tony Lee Bettenhausen Jr 1 October 30 1951 February 14 2000 was a Champ Car team owner and driver who died in a 2000 plane crash He was the son of former 14 time Indianapolis 500 competitor Tony Bettenhausen and the brother of 21 time Indy racer Gary Bettenhausen Another brother Merle Bettenhausen was maimed in his only Indy Car start Tony Bettenhausen Jr Born 1951 10 30 October 30 1951Joliet Illinois USDiedFebruary 14 2000 2000 02 14 aged 48 Harrison County Kentucky USRelativesTony Bettenhausen father Gary Bettenhausen brother Merle Bettenhausen brother Champ Car career113 races run over 14 yearsYears active1979 1993Best finish6th 1981 First race1979 Coors 200 Milwaukee Last race1993 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Wins Podiums Poles0 1 0NASCAR Cup Series career33 races run over 3 yearsBest finish20th 1974 First race1973 Atlanta 500 Atlanta Last race1982 Champion Spark Plug 400 Michigan Wins Top tens Poles0 1 0 Contents 1 Career 2 Death 3 Motorsports career results 3 1 NASCAR 3 1 1 Winston Cup Series 3 1 1 1 Daytona 500 3 2 American Open Wheel racing results 3 2 1 PPG Indycar Series 3 2 2 Indianapolis 500 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditAs a driver he started 11 Indianapolis 500 races scoring a best finish of 7th his rookie year in the 1981 race He took his trademark No 16 into team ownership in 1985 initially using March and Lola chassis then purchasing year old Penske chassis and then entering and qualifying two new Penskes for the 1993 race One number 76 was driven by himself the other by former Formula One driver Stefan Johansson A number of successful drivers passed through Bettenhausen s Alumax car including Johansson for the first few years as well as four time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and former IndyCar rookie of the year Patrick Carpentier Bettenhausen also competed in 33 NASCAR Winston Cup Series events in his career most coming in 1974 when he scored a career best 7th place effort at Richmond International Raceway A difficult 1999 plagued by a lack of sponsorship and a series of pay drivers saw the team take on a new look in 2000 with the hiring of Michel Jourdain Jr and his Herdez sponsorship The family holds the dubious distinction of the most combined starts in the famous race without a victory Death EditBettenhausen died in a light plane crash en route from Indianapolis to Homestead Florida that went down in Harrison County Kentucky Bettenhausen s wife Shirley the daughter of former Indianapolis racing star Jim McElreath as well as business associates Russ Roberts and Larry Rangel were also killed His legacy of the team lived on under the ownership of former Pacific Racing F1 team owner Keith Wiggins and was renamed Herdez Competition in 2001 with the No 16 replaced by Herdez s preference for the No 55 early in 2002 The team has subsequently gone through further changes in ownership was once Paul Stoddart s Minardi Team USA and became Wiggins HVM Racing competing in the IndyCar Series until the end of the 2012 season On 11 November 2015 the team was listed as up for auction officially listing the team as defunct 2 He is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis 3 Motorsports career results EditNASCAR Edit key Bold Pole position awarded by qualifying time Italics Pole position earned by points standings or practice time Most laps led Winston Cup Series Edit NASCAR Winston Cup Series resultsYear Team No Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 NWCC Pts Ref1973 Buster Davis 84 Dodge RSD DAY RCH CAR BRI ATL40 NWS DAR MAR 54th 4 Gordon Van Liew 38 Chevy TAL30 NSV CLT DOV TWS23 RSD MCH32 DAY BRI ATL TAL NSV DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR161974 9 RSD17 DAY33 RCH12 CAR19 BRI29 ATL DAR18 NWS14 MAR29 TAL30 NSV23 DOV34 CLT21 RSD31 MCH36 BRI26 NSV11 ATL24 POC27 TAL32 MCH25 DAR11 RCH7 DOV15 NWS25 MAR14 CLT 20th 601 69 5 Langley Racing 64 Ford DAY14Ulrich Racing 40 Chevy CAR20 ONT1982 Gordon Racing 24 Buick DAY RCH BRI ATL CAR DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT POC RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH24 BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS CLT MAR CAR ATL RSD NA 0 6 Daytona 500 Edit Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish1974 Gordon Van Liew Chevrolet 26 33American Open Wheel racing results Edit PPG Indycar Series Edit PPG Indycar Series resultsYear Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Pts1979 McElreath Racing Eagle Offenhauser t PHX ATL ATL INDYDNQ TRE TRE MCH MCH WGL TRE ONT MCH ATL PHX NA 1980 Medlin Racing Eagle Offenhauser t ONT INDYDNQ MILDNQ POC32 63rd 5Agajanian Grant King Racers Kingfish 73 Chevrolet V8 MDODNQ MCH WGLDNS MIL ONT MCH MEX PHX1981 Bettenhausen Racing McLaren Cosworth DFX V8t PHX MIL12 ATL7 ATL11 MCH2 RIVDNS MEX11 PHX19 6th 107Longhorn LR 1 MIL14Phoenix MCH10 WGL81982 Bettenhausen Racing March 82C Cosworth DFX V8t PHX12 ATL19 MIL12 CLE MCH10 POC5 RIV18 ROA7 MCH4 PHX6 10th 80Phoenix MIL201983 Bettenhausen Racing March 83C Cosworth DFX V8t ATL10 INDY17 MIL10 MCH18 POC10 RIV8 MCH9 CPL21 PHX18 17th 19March 83P CLE18 ROA12 MDO14 LAG141984 Provimi Veal Racing March 84C Cosworth DFX V8t LBHDNQ PHX22 INDY26 MIL POR MEA CLE MCH15 ROA POC16 MDO SAN MCH PHX LAG CPL NC 01985 All American Racers Lola T900 Cosworth DFX V8t LBH INDY29 MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH LAG PHX MIA 59th 01986 Bettenhausen Racing March 86C Cosworth DFX V8t PHX LBH INDY28 MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH POC MDO SAN MCH ROA LAG PHX MIA 50th 01987 Bettenhausen Racing March 86C Cosworth DFX V8t LBH11 PHX15 INDY10 MILDNQ POR MEA13 CLE20 TORDNQ MCH11 POC22 ROA15 MDO25 NAZ LAG MIA 29th 71988 Bettenhausen Racing Lola T8700 Cosworth DFX V8t PHX6 LBHDNQ INDY33 CLE15 MCH4 POC15 MDO16 ROA16 LAG26 MIA 17th 25March 86C MIL19 POR TOR17 MEA8Lola T8700 Judd AV NAZ131989 Leader Card Racing Lola T8900 Cosworth DFX V8t PHX LBH INDYDNQ MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH 50th 0Dale Coyne Racing Lola T8900 POC26 MDO ROA NAZ LAG1990 Bettenhausen Racing Lola T8700 Cosworth DFX V8t PHX LBHDNQ MDO20 ROADNS NAZ22 LAG 24th 4Buick 3300 V6t INDY26 MIL13 DET16 POR17 CLE12 MEA10 TOR26 MCH22 DEN24 VAN1991 Bettenhausen Racing Penske PC 19 Chevrolet 265A V8t SRF10 LBH12 PHX18 INDY9 MIL12 DET13 POR13 CLE13 MEA21 TOR11 MCH5 DEN10 VAN18 MDO18 ROA13 NAZ10 LAG16 14th 271992 Bettenhausen Racing Penske PC 20 Chevrolet 265A V8t SRF13 PHX11 LBH15 INDYDNQ DET POR21 MIL18 NHA TOR MCH9 CLE ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG 24th 61993 Bettenhausen Racing Penske PC 22 Chevrolet 265C V8t SRF PHX LBH INDY20 MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH NHA ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG 47th 0Indianapolis 500 Edit Year Chassis Engine Start Finish1979 Eagle Offy Failed to Qualify19801981 McLaren Cosworth 16th 7th1982 March 27th 26th1983 9th 17th1984 17th 26th1985 Lola 29th 29th1986 March 18th 28th1987 27th 10th1988 Lola 24th 33rd1989 Failed to Qualify1990 Buick 13th 26th1991 Penske Chevrolet 20th 9th1992 Failed to Qualify1993 22nd 20thReferences Edit 1980 Indianapolis 500 Daily track Report Key Auctioneers Auction Detail Archived from the original on 2015 11 09 Retrieved 2015 11 12 Indianapolis Auto greats PDF Celebrating Automotive Heritage at Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery 2011 Archived from the original PDF on 2012 09 13 Retrieved 2012 09 10 Tony Bettenhausen Jr 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results Racing Reference Retrieved January 23 2015 Tony Bettenhausen Jr 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results Racing Reference Retrieved January 23 2015 Tony Bettenhausen Jr 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results Racing Reference Retrieved January 23 2015 External links EditTony Bettenhausen Jr driver statistics at Racing Reference Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tony Bettenhausen Jr amp oldid 1109730744, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
