Tony
Bettenhausen

Melvin Eugene Bettenhausen, known as Tony, was born in Tinley Park in the United States on 12 September 1916. He was nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express". He raced midget cars and belonged to the "Chicago Gang", a group of drivers who toured circuits in the Midwest and on the East Coast. He took the track championship at the Milwaukee Mile in 1942, 1946 and 1947. In the AAA and USAC Championship Car series he was National Champion in 1951 and 1958.

From 1950 to 1960 the Indianapolis 500 counted towards the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Bettenhausen was therefore an Indy 500 driver: he started all eleven editions held in that period, and these were his eleven World Championship starts. He drove cars built by Deidt, Kurtis Kraft, Kuzma, Epperly and Watson. His best result came in 1955, when he finished second in a car shared with Paul Russo, a friend from the Chicago Gang. It was his only podium. That year he ended up 13th in the championship, with 15th in 1959, 17th in 1958 and 20th in 1950. He took no wins or pole positions in the World Championship.

In 1958 he became the first driver to win the National Championship without winning a race that season. He was killed on 12 May 1961 in a crash while testing a car at Indianapolis. His sons Gary and Tony Jr. also raced in the Indianapolis 500. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991.

Source: Wikipedia, “Tony Bettenhausen”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.