Gary Bettenhausen research

racefanindy · 12/26/21, 12:03 PM

I recently purchased a couple of glass “reverse painted” pictures of what I think is Gary Bettenhausen from the early 70’s. Car is #1 Thermo King. Looks to be a Dirt Champ Car because of the Foyt Indy Car engine and the oil cooler hung off the roll cage.

Can any one confirm if this is a sprint car or champ car? And confirm the year? Would anyone out there know more about these? Was there a series of who was the artist? The paintings are 14 x 18 inches and very good condition. Pics to follow….

racefanindy · 12/26/21, 12:06 PM

Post card.

racefanindy · 12/26/21, 12:10 PM

Painting

sp6967 · 12/26/21, 12:42 PM

Sounds like willie davis sprint car.

racefanindy · 12/26/21, 1:12 PM

Picture of painting.

openwheelfan1 · 12/26/21, 1:52 PM

This s a painting of the car Gary ran in 1972 after winning his second USAC Sprint title in 1971. Willie Davis owned and wrenched car running a Ford 4 cam engine. Same car he won the title with in 1971.

ronmil · 12/26/21, 9:51 PM

What about the Moser(sp) engine which I believe was sort of a Chevy based version of the Ford DOHC?

openwheelfan1 · 12/27/21, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronmil

What about the Moser(sp) engine which I believe was sort of a Chevy based version of the Ford DOHC?

Gary Bettenhausen drove a Dirt Champ car/Silver Crown car with Moser heads on a Chevy engine (I believe it ran with sponsorship from Obberdorfer Foundries) in the mid/latter 70’s. There was a car that made a couple of appearances at USAC Sprint car races in the early/mid70’s with Moser heads on a Chevy block (maybe #27) that had several different drivers including Jackie Howerton but it was never much of a factor. The Moser heads seemed to improve the performance of the Chevy, but negatively impacted the longevity.

Unfortunately, the Moser conversion never gained much traction and was hampered by a lack of funding and a lack of development.

racefanindy · 12/30/21, 4:31 PM

Thanks openwheelfan1. That helps. 🙂

openwheelfan1 · 12/30/21, 7:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racefanindy

Thanks openwheelfan1. That helps. 🙂

You are quite welcome! Beautiful painting!

I admit to being biased, because I was a HUGE Gary Bettenhausen fan, but IMO, his 1970-1972 sprint cars were some of the most beautiful cars on the USAC circuit.

12/26/21, 12:06 PM	#2
racefanindy Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 232	Post card. _________________________________________________ Last edited by racefanindy; 12/26/21 at 12:15 PM.

12/26/21, 12:10 PM	#3
racefanindy Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 232	Painting