Drivers/United States of America
Tony Bettenhausen
- 1950–1960
- BET
- Born 12 September 1916 in Tinley Park
- Died 12 May 1961
- Melvin Eugene Bettenhausen
Never drove a Formula 1 race. All of these appearances were at the Indianapolis 500, which counted towards the drivers' championship from 1950 to 1960 but was run to different regulations with a different field.
- Starts11
- Wins00% of starts
- Podiums19% of starts
- Pole positions00× started from P1
- Fastest laps1
- Titles0best finish P13
Career numbers
- Avg grid position13.2
- Avg finish12
- Retirement rate0%
- Pole-to-win conversion–
- Positions gained+13
- Points scored11
- Longest winning streak–
- Longest podium streak1
- Longest points-scoring streak2
- TeamsDeidt (1950–1952) · Kuzma (1953) · Kurtis Kraft (1954–1957) · Epperly (1958–1959) · Watson (1960)
Pole position means the fastest time in qualifying. That is not the same as a start from P1 – grid penalties move a driver down the grid. Up to the 2000s the two numbers coincide.
The career at a glance
Season by season
Every race
13 entries, 11 of them started. DNQ: did not qualify; DNS: did not start; DNF: retired.
- First entryIndianapolis 500 1950P5 · Kurtis Kraft
- Last startIndianapolis 500 1960P23 · Watson
All 13 races, season by season
| Year | Race | Team | Grid | Result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Indianapolis 500shared | Kurtis Kraft | – | P5 | 1 |
| Indianapolis 500 | Deidt | 8 | P31 | ||
| 1951 | Indianapolis 500 | Deidt | 9 | P9 | |
| 1952 | Indianapolis 500 | Deidt | 30 | P24 | |
| 1953 | Indianapolis 500 | Kuzma | 6 | P9 | |
| 1954 | Indianapolis 500shared | Kurtis Kraft | – | P15 | |
| Indianapolis 500 | Kurtis Kraft | 21 | P29 | ||
| 1955 | Indianapolis 500 | Kurtis Kraft | 2 | P2 | 3 |
| 1956 | Indianapolis 500 | Kurtis Kraft | 5 | P22 | |
| 1957 | Indianapolis 500 | Kurtis Kraft | 22 | P15 | |
| 1958 | Indianapolis 500fastest lap | Epperly | 9 | P4 | 4 |
| 1959 | Indianapolis 500 | Epperly | 15 | P4 | 3 |
| 1960 | Indianapolis 500 | Watson | 18 | P23 |
Against team-mates
Same car, same races. In the race only those where both reached the finish count – a retirement says nothing about the head-to-head.
| Team-mate | Years | Races | Qualifying | Quali gap | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Agabashian | 1950–1957 | 3:2 | 2:1 | −0.14% | 4 : 0 | Compare |
| Jim Rathmann | 1954–1960 | 3:2 | 1:2 | +0.16% | 4 : 10 | Compare |
| Johnny Boyd | 1955–1959 | 3:1 | 2:2 | −0.90% | 6 : 0 | Compare |
| Johnnie Parsons | 1950–1957 | 3:2 | 1:1 | −1.16% | 4 : 9 | Compare |
| Sam Hanks | 1950–1956 | 3:2 | 2:0 | −0.20% | 4 : 6 | Compare |
| Andy Linden | 1954–1957 | 2:2 | 2:1 | −0.63% | 3 : 2 | Compare |
| Pat O'Connor | 1954–1957 | 2:2 | 1:2 | +0.06% | 3 : 0 | Compare |
| Jimmy Daywalt | 1954–1957 | 4:0 | 3:0 | −0.99% | 3 : 0 | Compare |
| Paul Russo | 1954–1957 | 1:3 | 1:1 | −0.43% | 3 : 7 | Compare |
| Al Keller | 1955–1957 | 2:1 | 2:1 | −0.73% | 3 : 0 | Compare |
| Ed Elisian | 1955–1957 | 3:0 | 2:1 | −2.23% | 3 : 0 | Compare |
| Chuck Stevenson | 1953–1960 | 1:2 | 1:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Bob Sweikert | 1953–1955 | 1:2 | 2:0 | +0.01% | 3 : 8 | Compare |
| Troy Ruttman | 1954–1960 | 1:2 | 1:1 | −0.39% | 0 : 1.5 | Compare |
| Pat Flaherty | 1950–1955 | 3:0 | 1:0 | – | 4 : 0 | Compare |
| Jack McGrath | 1950–1955 | 2:1 | 1:0 | – | 4 : 5 | Compare |
| Mauri Rose | 1950–1951 | 1:1 | 0:2 | – | 0 : 4 | Compare |
| Duane Carter | 1951–1954 | 0:3 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 1.5 | Compare |
| Jimmy Davies | 1954–1955 | 2:1 | 1:0 | – | 3 : 4 | Compare |
| Marshall Teague | 1954–1957 | 1:2 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Al Herman | 1955–1956 | 2:0 | 2:0 | – | 3 : 0 | Compare |
| Ray Crawford | 1955–1956 | 2:0 | 2:0 | – | 3 : 0 | Compare |
| Dick Rathmann | 1956–1960 | 1:1 | 0:2 | – | 0 : 2 | Compare |
| Rodger Ward | 1956–1960 | 0:2 | 1:1 | – | 0 : 6 | Compare |
| Bob Christie | 1956–1957 | 0:2 | 2:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Jack Turner | 1956–1957 | 1:1 | 1:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Jimmy Bryan | 1958–1959 | 1:1 | 1:1 | – | 7 : 8 | Compare |
| Walt Faulkner | 1950–1955 | 2:0 | 1:0 | – | 4 : 1 | Compare |
| Mack Hellings | 1950–1951 | 2:0 | 1:0 | – | 1 : 0 | Compare |
| Jerry Hoyt | 1950–1954 | 2:1 | 0:0 | – | 1 : 0 | Compare |
| Duke Dinsmore | 1950–1956 | 1:1 | 1:0 | – | 1 : 0 | Compare |
| Bill Vukovich | 1954–1955 | 1:1 | 1:0 | – | 3 : 9 | Compare |
| Art Cross | 1954–1955 | 1:1 | 1:0 | – | 3 : 0 | Compare |
| Eddie Russo | 1956–1957 | 2:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Jimmy Jackson | 1950–1954 | 1:1 | 0:0 | – | 1 : 0 | Compare |
| Bill Holland | 1950 | 0:1 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 6 | Compare |
| Gene Hartley | 1953–1954 | 1:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Manny Ayulo | 1953 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Bill Homeier | 1954–1955 | 2:0 | 0:0 | – | 3 : 1 | Compare |
| Chuck Weyant | 1955 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 3 : 0 | Compare |
| Cal Niday | 1955 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 3 : 0 | Compare |
| Bob Veith | 1956 | 0:1 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Johnnie Tolan | 1956 | 0:1 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Keith Andrews | 1956 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Don Freeland | 1957 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Jimmy Reece | 1957 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Don Edmunds | 1957 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Mike Magill | 1957 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Eddie Johnson | 1957 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Bill Cheesbourg | 1957 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Elmer George | 1957 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| George Amick | 1958 | 0:1 | 1:0 | – | 4 : 6 | Compare |
| Paul Goldsmith | 1959 | 1:0 | 1:0 | – | 3 : 2 | Compare |
| Lloyd Ruby | 1960 | 0:1 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Len Sutton | 1960 | 1:0 | 0:1 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Cecil Green | 1950 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 1 : 3 | Compare |
| Joie Chitwood | 1950 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 1 : 1 | Compare |
| Johnny McDowell | 1950 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 1 : 0 | Compare |
| Walt Brown | 1950 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 1 : 0 | Compare |
| Mike Nazaruk | 1954 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 2 | Compare |
| Larry Crockett | 1954 | 0:1 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Ernie McCoy | 1954 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| Frank Armi | 1954 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
| George Fonder | 1954 | 1:0 | 0:0 | – | 0 : 0 | Compare |
Green: Tony Bettenhausen came out ahead in that duel. Quali gap: the median difference in the last session both set a time in, as a share of the lap – minus is faster. At least three sessions; a dash where there were fewer.
Strongest circuits
Circuits with at least two starts, most wins first.
| Circuit | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis | 11 | 1 | 12 |