The Bettenhausen family name became one of the most recognisable in American open-wheel racing across multiple generations of competition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tony Jr. grew up within that tradition, eventually competing himself before transitioning into team ownership and building an operation that ran at the top level of Champ Car racing for more than a decade. The family holds the distinction of accumulating the most combined starts at the Indianapolis 500 without a victory.
As a driver, Bettenhausen started 11 Indianapolis 500 races, recording his best result in his rookie year at the 1981 edition, where he finished seventh. He also competed in 33 NASCAR Winston Cup Series events across his career, with the majority coming in 1974. His best NASCAR result was a seventh-place finish at Richmond International Raceway that same year.
Bettenhausen moved into team ownership in 1985, initially campaigning March and Lola chassis under his trademark No. 16. He later shifted to purchasing year-old Penske equipment to remain competitive. His ambitions grew: for the 1993 Indianapolis 500, he acquired and qualified two brand-new Penske chassis. Car No. 76 was driven by himself; the second was entrusted to former Formula One driver Stefan Johansson.
The team operated under Alumax sponsorship for a significant stretch and attracted a succession of quality drivers. Johansson drove for the operation in its early years. Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and former IndyCar Rookie of the Year Patrick Carpentier also raced under the Bettenhausen banner, reflecting the organisation's ability to place itself near the front of the Champ Car field despite limited resources compared to the largest teams.
A difficult 1999 season, hampered by a shortage of sponsorship and a reliance on pay drivers, compelled a reset heading into 2000. The team signed Michel Jourdain Jr. and secured Herdez as a title sponsor, offering renewed stability and a cleaner identity as the new season began.
On February 14, 2000, Bettenhausen was killed when a light aircraft he was travelling in went down in Harrison County, Kentucky. Also killed in the crash were his wife Shirley — daughter of former Indianapolis racing driver Jim McElreath — and business associates Russ Roberts and Larry Rangel. Tony Bettenhausen Jr. is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.
The team Bettenhausen built survived beyond his death. Former Pacific Racing Formula One team owner Keith Wiggins acquired the operation and renamed it Herdez Competition in 2001. The No. 16 that had been synonymous with Bettenhausen was replaced by the No. 55 early in 2002 at the new sponsor's request. The team subsequently changed hands again and operated for a period as Paul Stoddart's Minardi Team USA, before being reborn under Wiggins as HVM Racing in the IndyCar Series. HVM Racing continued to compete through the end of the 2012 season, at which point the team was listed for auction on 11 November 2015 and officially declared defunct — the final chapter in the organisation Tony Jr. had founded three decades earlier.