Wally Dallenbach Sr.
Wally Dallenbach Sr. | |||||||
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Born | Wallace Jacob Dallenbach December 12, 1936 East Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||
Died | April 29, 2024 Browns Mills, New Jersey, U.S. | (aged 87)||||||
Championship titles | |||||||
Major victories California 500 (1973) | |||||||
Champ Car career | |||||||
180 races run over 15 years | |||||||
Best finish | 2nd (1973) | ||||||
First race | 1965 Langhorne 125 (Langhorne) | ||||||
Last race | 1979 Miller High Life 150 (Phoenix) | ||||||
First win | 1973 Tony Bettenhausen 200 (Milwaukee) | ||||||
Last win | 1977 Trenton 200 (Trenton) | ||||||
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NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
4 races run over 3 years | |||||||
Best finish | 81st (1962) | ||||||
First race | 1962 Daytona Qualifier #2 (Daytona) | ||||||
Last race | 1974 National 500 (Charlotte) | ||||||
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Wallace Jacob Dallenbach (December 12, 1936 – April 29, 2024) was an American racing driver and official. He competed primarily in Championship cars,[1][2] and was the winner of the 1973 California 500. After Dallenbach's retirement from driving, he served for more than 20 years as Chief Steward of Competition for Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART).
Dallenbach was the father of NASCAR driver and commentator, Wally Dallenbach Jr. After Dallenbach Jr. began a professional racing career during the middle 1980s, Dallenbach came to be known by the retronym Dallenbach Sr.
Biography[edit]
Racing career[edit]
Dallenbach nearly won the 1975 Indianapolis 500, dueling with A. J. Foyt for many laps. He led for half of the race, but burned a piston on lap 162, twelve laps before the race was called due to rain. Bobby Unser won the race, which was halted at lap 174 (435 miles).
CART official[edit]
Dallenbach joined CART as competition director in 1980, and became chief steward of the series in 1981, a position he held until 2004. Under his tenure, he improved the safety program in CART. He also established nondenominational church services for drivers and their families.
Post-racing activities[edit]
Dallenbach maintained an involvement in motorsports, serving as the president of the Colorado 500 motorcycle race. This event has raised over a million dollars in community support[3] for the town of Basalt, Colorado, located in the Roaring Fork Valley region of western Colorado.
With his winnings from the California 500, Dallenbach purchased a ranch, fairground, cabins and a private automotive restoration garage near the Fryingpan River in upper Basalt.[4] In 2023, he sold the property, returning with his wife to New Jersey.
Dallenbach died on April 29, 2024, at the age of 87.[5][6]
Awards and honors[edit]
Dallenbach has been inducted into the following halls of fame:
- Eastern Motorsport Press Association Hall of Fame (1992)[7]
- Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame (2004)[8]
- Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey (2004)[9]
- Motorcycle Hall of Fame (2006)[10]
- Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2020)[11]
- Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (2021)[12]
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame (2022)[13]
- Pikes Peak Hill Climb Museum Hall of Fame (2022)[14]
Motorsports career results[edit]
USAC Championship Car results[edit]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
CART Championship Car results[edit]
(key)
Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points | Ref |
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1979 | Patrick Racing | Wildcat | Offenhauser | PHX 12 |
9th | 1149 | [15] | |||||||||||||
Cosworth | PHX 7 |
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Lightning | ATL 11 |
ATL 8 |
||||||||||||||||||
Penske | INDY 27 |
TRE 4 |
TRE 2 |
MCH 5 |
MCH 10 |
WGL 14 |
TRE 4 |
ONT 24 |
MCH 6 |
ATL 4 |
Indianapolis 500 results[edit]
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- In 1972, Dallenbach was bumped on the final day of time trials. Art Pollard crashed his qualified car on May 16, and was too injured to drive on race day. Dallenbach was hired to fill the seat, and the car was moved to 33rd starting position.
References[edit]
- ^ via Associated Press. "Second Time Around", St. Petersburg Times, May 24, 1972. Accessed February 13, 2011. "Wally Dallenbach, a 36-year old veteran driver from East Brunswick, N.J., will get a chance to compete in the 56th running of the Indianapolis 500-mile race after all."
- ^ "Wally Dallenbach". www.champcarstats.com.
- ^ The Colorado 500 Online
- ^ Writer, Scott Condon, Aspen Daily News Staff (2023-06-03). "Dallenbach family sells iconic Fryingpan Ranch". Aspen Daily News. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Wally Dallenbach 1936 - 2024". RACER. 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Hall of Famer Wally Dallenbach, 87". speedsport.com. Turn 3 Media, LLC. April 29, 2024. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ "Eastern Motorsports Press Association - Hall of Fame". empamedia.com. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Wally Dallenbach, Sr. | Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ https://us.motorsport.com/vintage/news/champcar-cart-dallenbach-named-to-new-jersey-hof/2027033/.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame | Wally Dallenbach, Sr". hof.motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Wally Dallenbach Sr". www.mshf.com. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame | CMHF Class of 2022 Induction Gala Report & Gallery". Retrieved 2024-04-30.
Dallenbach will be considered a Class of 2021 member.
- ^ "Wally Dallenbach". IMS Museum. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ "Hall of Fame". Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
- ^ "Wally Dallenbach – 1979 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.