Gary Bettenhausen

Born	November 18, 1941 (1941-11-18) (age 68)
Hometown	Tinley Park, Illinois
Awards	1993 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee 1998 National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductee 1967 and 1971 Sprint car champion 1980 and 1983 USAC Silver Crown champion
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series statistics
8 races run over 2 years
Best cup position	43rd - 1974 (Grand National)
First race	1967 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	1974 Motor State 360 (Michigan)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Gary Bettenhausen (born November 18, 1941) is a retired American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, and currently resides in Monrovia, Indiana.

Contents 1 Racing family 2 Racing career 2.1 Midgets 2.2 Sprint cars 2.3 Indy style cars/Indianapolis 500 2.4 NASCAR 2.5 Awards 2.6 Indy 500 results 3 References

[edit] Racing family

His father was Indianapolis 500 and sprint car legend Tony Bettenhausen, and his brother was former Champ Car team owner Tony Bettenhausen Jr. Another brother, Merle Bettenhausen, was maimed in a fiery crash.

[edit] Racing career

[edit] Midgets

He began as a midget car driver. He finished third in the midget car national points in 1967. ^[1] 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. He has 27 career USAC midget wins.

[edit] Sprint cars

He won the 1969 and 1971 sprint car championships. ^[1]

He won the 1980 and 1983 USAC Dirt Track champions in Silver Crown car. ^[1]

A crash at a sprint car race in Syracuse, New York on July 2, 1974 crushed Gary's left arm and left it paralyzed. He regained enough mobility to drive but has never fully recovered from the injury.

[edit] Indy style cars/Indianapolis 500

He competed in Indy style cars from the mid-'1960s until 1996.During this time he won six USAC Indy Car races. Gary made 21 starts in the Indy '500, contesting each event from 1968 until 1982 (with the exception of 1979 when he failed to qualify), and again from 1986 to 1993. ^[1] His best finish came in 1980 when he finished third after starting 32nd in the 33-car field.

[edit] NASCAR

He competed in eight career NASCAR Winston Cup events. ^[2] 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 in 1974. ^[2]

[edit] 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. ^[1]

[edit] Indy 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1968	Gerhardt	Offy	22nd	24th
1969	Gerhardt	Offy	9th	26th
1970	Gerhardt	Offy	20th	26th
1971	Gerhardt	Offy	13th	10th
1972	McLaren	Offy	4th	14th
1973	McLaren	Offy	5th	5th
1974	McLaren	Offy	11th	32nd
1975	Eagle	Offy	19th	15th
1976	Eagle	Offy	8th	28th
1977	King	Offy	21st	16th
1978	King	Offy	31st	16th
1979	King	Offy	Failed to Qualify
1980	Wildcat	DGS(Offy)	32nd	3rd
1981	Lightning	Cosworth	11th	26th
1982	Lightning	Cosworth	30th	12th
1983	Lightning	Chevrolet	Failed to Qualify
1984	March	Cosworth	Failed to Qualify
1986	March	Cosworth	29th	11th
1987	March	Cosworth	15th	5th
1988	March	Cosworth	Failed to Qualify
1989	Lola	Buick	14th	33rd
1990	Lola	Buick	18th	31st
1991	Lola	Buick	12th	22nd
1992	Lola	Buick	5th	17th
1993	Lola	Menard-Buick	18th	17th
1994	Penske	Ilmor	Failed to Qualify

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} http://www.worthyofhonor.com/Inductees/Gary_Bettenhausen.htm Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
2. ^ ^{a b} http://racing-reference.info/driver?id=bettega01 Biography at racing-reference.info