Merle Bettenhausen (born June 9, 1943) is a former American race car driver. The second oldest member of the Bettenhausen racing family, he is the son of

Tony Bettenhausen Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen (September 12, 1916 – May 12, 1961) was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958. Bettenhausen was nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express" in honor of his hometown. He was n ...

and the brother of

Gary Bettenhausen Gary Bettenhausen (November 18, 1941 – March 16, 2014) was an American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, graduated in the class of 1962 from Bremen High School (Midlothian, Illinois) in Mi ...

and

Tony Bettenhausen Jr. Tony Lee Bettenhausen Jr. (October 30, 1951 – February 14, 2000) was a Champ Car team owner and driver who died in a 2000 plane crash. He was the son of former 14-time Indianapolis 500 competitor Tony Bettenhausen and the brother of 21-time Indy ...

Merle's USAC

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...

racing career was brief and tragic. Three laps into his first Champ Car race on a paved track, Michigan International Speedway on July 16, 1972, he tangled with

Mike Hiss Mike Hiss (7 July 1941 – 19 December 2018) was an American driver in the USAC Championship Car series. He raced in the 1972–1976 seasons, with 28 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as th ...

and crashed into the outside wall. The car exploded in flames and Merle tried to climb out while it was still moving. His right arm became trapped between the car and the wall and was torn off. He currently resides in Indianapolis and works in the retail automobile business. He has a son, Ryan Bettenhausen, and daughter, Tracy Jennings.

Notes

1943 births Living people People from Tinley Park, Illinois Racing drivers from Illinois Bettenhausen family USAC Silver Crown Series drivers {{US-autoracing-bio-stub