By: Spencer Neff
April 29, 2024

On Monday, former driver and Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach Sr. passed away at age 87.

Dallenbach Sr., a native of East Brunswick, New Jersey, made his USAC ChampCar debut at Pennsylvania’s famous Langhorne Speedway in 1965. Over the next 15 years, he made 180 starts across INDYCAR competition. Dallenbach Sr. won five races, including the California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1973.

In 1974, he qualified second to A.J. Fort, his lone front row start at the Indianapolis 500.

In 1975, Dallenbach qualified 21st at the Indianapolis 500. He would find his way up front and lead a race-high 96 laps before a blown piston on Lap 162 ended his chance for a victory.

The next two years, Dallenbach recorded his career-best finish at the Indianapolis 500. In 1979, he finished 12th at Phoenix in his final race after starting third, crashing out with 15 laps remaining.

Dallenbach competed in the 1980 Michigan IROC (International Race of Champions) event and qualified for Mario Andretti at the Indianapolis 500 the next year.

He would serve as the Chief Steward of CART/ChampCar from 1980-2004. Dallenbach is credited with the founding of the series’ safety team, a hallmark of safety and innovation in motorsports.

Dallenbach Sr’s son, Wally Jr., is a champion sports car racer who made four appearances in CART from 1987-1990 before moving to NASCAR. He would also serve as driver analyst for Versus/NBC Sports INDYCAR telecasts from 2010-2014.

His daughter, Colleen, has worked for multiple IndyCar teams, including her current job as Office Manager at Ed Carpenter Racing.

IndyCar1909 thanks Wally Dallenbach Sr. for his contributions to the series and the sport of auto racing. We offer condolences to his friends and the Dallenbach family.

Header Image: Dallenbach after qualifying for his first of 13 Indianapolis 500 starts in 1967, He would qualify 15th and finish 29th.