Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. (October 20, 1951 - February 14, 2000 from Indianapolis, IN) was a former Champ Car team owner and driver, born in Joliet, Illinois, who died in a 2000 plane crash.
As a driver he started 11 Indianapolis 500 races, scoring a best finish of 7th his rookie year in 1981. He took his trademark #16 into team ownership in 1993, originally using year-old Penske chassis and entering a second car for himself, #76, at the year's Indy 500. A number of successful drivers passed through Tony's Alumax car, notably former Formula One driver Stefan Johansson the first few years as well as two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and former IndyCar rookie of the year Patrick Carpentier.
Bettenhausen, Jr. also competed in 33 Sprint Cup Series series events in his career, most coming in 1974 when he scored a career best 7th place effort at Richmond International Raceway.
A difficult 1999 plagued by a lack of sponsorship and a series of pay-drivers saw the team take on a new look in 2000 with the hiring of Michel Jourdain Jr. and his Herdez sponsorship.
Bettenhausen never got to see that happen following a light plane crash en route from Indianapolis to Homestead, Florida that went down in Kentucky. Bettenhausen's wife Shirley, as well as business associates Russ Roberts and Larry Rangel were also killed. His legacy of the team lived on under the ownership of former Pacific Racing F1 team owner Keith Wiggins and was renamed Herdez Competition in 2001, the legendary #16 replaced by Herdez's preference for the #55 early in 2002.
Indy 500 results[]
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Eagle | Offy | Failed to Qualify | |
| 1980 | Eagle | Offy | Failed to Qualify | |
| 1981 | McLaren | Cosworth | 16th | 7th |
| 1982 | March | Cosworth | 27th | 26th |
| 1983 | March | Cosworth | 9th | 17th |
| 1984 | March | Cosworth | 17th | 26th |
| 1985 | Lola | Cosworth | 29th | 29th |
| 1986 | March | Cosworth | 18th | 28th |
| 1987 | March | Cosworth | 27th | 10th |
| 1988 | Lola | Cosworth | 24th | 33rd |
| 1989 | Lola | Cosworth | Failed to Qualify | |
| 1990 | Lola | Buick | 13th | 26th |
| 1991 | Penske | Chevrolet | 20th | 9th |
| 1992 | Penske | Chevrolet | Failed to Qualify | |
| 1993 | Penske | Chevrolet | 22nd | 20th |