Gary Bettenhausen (November 18, 1941 – March 16, 2014) was an American midget car driver. He was the winner the 1967 and 1970

Turkey Night Grand Prix The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving ni ...

, the 1972 Astro Grand Prix, and the 1976 Hut Hundred.

Personal life

Bettenhausen was born in

Blue Island, Illinois Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, south of Chicago Loop, Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park, Chicago, Morgan Park neighborho ...

, raised in

Tinley Park, Illinois Tinley Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 55,971 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a suburb in the Chicago metropolitan ar ...

, he graduated in 1962 from Bremen High School in

Midlothian, Illinois Midlothian () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 14,325. History Like many southwest suburbs of Chicago in the 180 ...

. Bettenhausen's father was

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

and sprint car legend Tony Bettenhausen. His brother was former

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

driver and team owner Tony. Another brother,

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, lost his arm in a fiery crash. He married his wife Wavelyn on January 4, 1964, and the family had three children, Gary Jr., and twin sons Cary and Todd. They had two grandchildren. Cary and Todd run a medical products company in Indiana and have numerous patents. In addition, Todd is a well-known eSports gamer involved in motorsport simulation equipment. According to

radio broadcaster Mark Jaynes, the twins attended Monrovia High School with him and current Team Penske crew chief Kyle Moyer. graduating together in 1982. Bettenhausen died on March 16, 2014, in Monrovia, Indiana.

Racing career

Midgets

Bettenhausen began as a midget car driver. He finished third in the midget car national points in 1967. Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame He won the first leg of the Astro Grand Prix in 1969, which was held in the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

. He won the 1967 and 1970

, 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. He won the 1980 and 1983 USAC Dirt Track champions in a Silver Crown car. A crash at a Championship Dirt Car race (AKA Silver Crown Car) in Syracuse, New York on July 4, 1974, crushed his left arm and left it paralyzed. He regained enough mobility to drive but never fully recovered from the injury. GBettenhausenPocono

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. 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. In the 1991 Indianapolis 500, Bettenhausen was the fastest qualifier at 224.468 mph. As his time was recorded on the second day of qualifying,

Rick Mears Richard Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is an American former race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...

, who had qualified slower (224.113 mph), started on the pole position.

NASCAR

Bettenhausen competed in eight career

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

events.http://racing-reference.info/driver?id=bettega01 Biography at racing-reference.info 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 Michigan International Speedway (formerly named as the Michigan Speedway from 1997 to 2000) is a D-shaped oval superspeedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. It has hosted various major auto racing series throughout its existence, including NASCAR, Cham ...

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 The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summe ...

Motorsports career results

American open-wheel racing

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Championship Car

PPG Indy Car World Series

=Indianapolis 500

NASCAR

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

Grand National Series

Winston Cup Series

=Daytona 500

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bettenhausen, Gary 1941 births 2014 deaths People from Tinley Park, Illinois Racing drivers from Illinois Indianapolis 500 drivers Champ Car drivers NASCAR drivers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees People from Monrovia, Indiana Sportspeople from the Indianapolis metropolitan area Sportspeople from Blue Island, Illinois Bettenhausen family Team Penske drivers USAC Silver Crown Series drivers Bettenhausen Racing drivers