Although his career in midgets and Indy cars spanned both the pre
and post World War II eras, the latter was, by far, Bettenhausen's
best. From 1946 until his untimely death in a racing accident at Indianapolis
in 1961, Tony won 21 Championship races, placing him 14th on the current
all-time list. He also won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958,
and set a record in '51 for the most championship race wins in a single
season, winning eight of the 15 events. (That single season record
was later broken by A.J. Foyt in 1964). Bettenhausen still ranks among
the top lap leaders from 1946-95. In his 1951 Championship year, Tony
led 640 of a possible 650 laps in one seven-race stretch. He competed
in the Indy 500 14 times, and while he never won, he had a second
and a pair of fourths to his credit.
