Tony Bettenhausen

Tony Bettenhausen

Nation:	United States
Automobile world championship
First start:	Indianapolis 500 1950
Last start:	Indianapolis 500 1960
Constructors
1950–1952  Deidt 1953  Kuzma 1954–1957  Kurtis Kraft 1958–1959  Epperly 1960  Watson
statistics
World Cup balance:	WM-13. ( 1955 )
Starts Victories Poles SR 11 - - 1
World Cup points :	11
Podiums :	1
Leadership laps :	24 over 96,552 km

Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen (born September 12, 1916 in Tinley Park , Illinois ; † May 12, 1961 in Indianapolis , Indiana ) was an American automobile racing driver .

Career

Bettenhausen started the Champ Car in 118 races between 1941 and 1961 , of which he won 22. In 1951 and 1958 he was a master. Through his participation in the 500 miles of Indianapolis , which counted between 1950 and 1960 to the driver's world championship , he also took part in eleven Grand Prix races. However, he never won the race, a second place in 1955 in a Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser remained his best result. When trying to qualify for the race in Indianapolis in 1961, he had a fatal accident. At high speed he skidded, overturned on the track and came to rest on the edge of the track, where his vehicle went up in flames. Bettenhausen died at the scene of the accident.

Bettenhausen is the father of Gary Bettenhausen (1941–2014), Merle Bettenhausen (* 1943) and Tony Bettenhausen jr. (1951–2000), all of whom were also active as racing drivers.

statistics

Indy 500 results

year	Start number	begin	Agony (km / h)	Result	Round	guide	failure
1947	29	25th	194.681	18th	79	0	engine
1948	6th	22nd	203.387	14th	167	0	coupling
1949	46	DNQ
	16	DNQ
1950	14th	8th	210.709	31	30th	0	Wheel bearings
	17th			5 2	51	0	drove Chitwood's car; Rd. 86-136
1951	5	9	212,334	9	178	0	Lathe operator
1952	99	DNQ					Training accident
	27	30th	217.853	24	93	0	starter
1953	98	6th	219.173	9	196	0	accident
1954	10	21st	222.504	29	105	0	Oil pipe
	16			15 4	34	0	drove Carter's car at 121–154
1955	10	2	225.256	2	200	0
1956	99	5	232.690	22nd	160	0	accident
1957	27	22nd	229.198	15th	195	0
1958	33	9	231,580	4th	200	24
1959	1	15th	229.665	4th	200	0
1960	2	18th	233.672	23	125	0	drive
1961	15th	DNQ
	24	DNQ					deadly accident

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th
1953	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis 500K	SEB	MIM	LEM	SPA	ONLY	RTT	CAP
									DNF

Web links

• Tony Bettenhausen at Racing Sports Cars

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Champ Cat Starts: [1]
2. ↑ see YouTube video: [2]