Wallace Jacob Dallenbach (December 12, 1936 – April 29, 2024) was an American racing driver and official. He competed primarily in United States Auto Club (USAC) sanctioned Championship cars,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." and was the winner of the 1973 California 500. After retiring 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, Wallace Paul Dallenbach. After the younger Dallenbach began a professional racing career during the middle 1980s, the elder Dallenbach came to be known by the retronym Dallenbach Sr.

Biography Dallenbach was born in East Brunswick, New Jersey. After working in the construction industry, he began his racing career in modified racing. In 1962, he competed in the Daytona 500. He eventually settled on open-wheel racing, competing in midget and sprint cars before moving to Indy cars in 1965.

Indy car career After several years competing in uncompetitive equipment, Dallenbach's breakthrough came after being signed by team owner Pat Patrick to replace driver Swede Savage, badly injured during the 1973 Indianapolis 500. After Savage's death, Dallenbach's seat became permanent. Four races into his tenure with Patrick's team, Dallenbach scored his first victory, the Tony Bettenhausen 200 at the Milwaukee Mile. He scored two further victories in 1973, including the California 500. Despite not starting in four races during the 1973 season, Dallenbach finished the 1973 USAC Championship Car season ranked second in points.

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).

Dallenback came back to qualify Mario Andretti's car at the 1981 Indianapolis 500 as Mario was unavailable to qualify.

CART official Dallenbach joined CART as Competition Director in 1980 and became Chief Steward of the series in 1981. Under his tenure, he greatly improved the safety program in CART, the preeminent sanctioning body of Indy car racing. He played an instrumental role in establishing the first dedicated rapid response trauma team in auto racing. He also established nondenominational church services for drivers and their families. Dallenbach held his position until the end of the 2000 season, after which he went into semi-retirement, serving as Special Advisor to CART and Chris Kneifel, his successor as Chief Steward.

Advance testing and practice in preparation for the 2001 Firestone Firehawk 600 – to be held at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) – saw numerous drivers black out due to unprecedented g-forces experienced at the track. Dallenbach had visited TMS as early as 1996, deeming it unsafe for Indy car competition. On the day of the race, despite pressure from stakeholders within the CART community to proceed with the event, it was decided to cancel to event in order to ensure the safety of the competitors.

Shortly thereafter, Dallenbach returned as Chief Steward for CART, replacing Kneifel, who had been the subject of criticism from many drivers. Dallenbach served until the conclusion of the 2004 season, after which he retired permanently.

Post-racing activities Dallenbach served as the president of the Colorado 500 motorcycle charity ride. The events have raised just under three million dollars in community supportThe Colorado 500 Online - including more than $800,000 in student scholarships - 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. In 2023, he sold the property, returning with his wife to New Jersey. During their time in Colorado, the couple supported the development of local emergency services in the area; in 1976, Dallenbach purchased an ambulance for the town of Basalt.

Dallenbach died on April 29, 2024, at the age of 87.

Awards and honors Dallenbach has been inducted into the following halls of fame:

Eastern Motorsport Press Association Hall of Fame (1992) Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame (2004) Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey (2004) Motorcycle Hall of Fame (2006) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2020) Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (2021) Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame (2022) Pikes Peak Hill Climb Museum Hall of Fame (2022)

After his death in 2024, the community of Basalt, Colorado named their newest ambulance after Dallenbach; in 1976 he had purchased the community its first ambulance.

Motorsports career results USAC Championship Car results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Rank Points Ref 1965 Joe Barzda Kurtis Offenhauser PHX TRE INDY MIL LAN PIP TRE IRP ATL LAN MIL SPR MIL DUQ ISF 37th 80 Kenny Brenn Meskowski TRE SAC PHX 1966 Kenny Brenn Meskowski Offenhauser PHX TRE INDY MIL LAN ATL PIP IRP LAN SPR MIL DUQ ISF TRE SAC 50th 40 Taasi Vatis Huffaker PHX 1967 Taasi Vatis Huffaker Offenhauser PHX TRE INDY MIL LAN PIP MOS MOS IRP LAN MTR MTR MIL DUQ ISF TRE SAC HAN PHX RIV 21st 410 Vollstedt SPR 1968 Taasi Vatis Finley Offenhauser TRE INDY MIL MOS MOS LAN PIP CDR MIL DUQ TRE MCH HAN PHX 16th 960 Vollstedt NAZ IRP IRP SPR ISF SAC Huffaker HAN LVG PHX LAN LAN Ford MTR MTR Rolla Vollstedt Vollstedt RIV 1969 Lindsey Hopkins Eagle Chevrolet CDR RIV 6th 1795 Offenhauser PHX HAN INDY MIL LAN PIP TRE IRP IRP MIL DOV DUQ ISF BRN BRN TRE PHX Kuzma SPR Vollstedt SAC KEN KEN Kenny Brenn Meskowski NAZ 1970 Lindsey Hopkins Eagle Ford PHX 18th 620 Offenhauser PHX SON TRE INDY MIL LAN CDR MCH IRP SPR MIL ONT DUQ ISF SED Kuzma TRE SAC 1971 Lindsey Hopkins Kuzma Offenhauser RAF RAF PHX TRE INDY MIL MCH MIL ONT TRE 10th 1220 Kenyon Ford POC Vollstedt Enterprises Vollstedt PHX 1972 Lindsey Hopkins Eagle Offenhauser PHX TRE 13th 720 Andy Granatelli Lola Foyt INDY MIL MCH POC MIL ONT TRE PHX 1973 Patrick Racing Eagle Offenhauser TWS TRE TRE MIL POC MCH MIL ONT ONT ONT MCH MCH TRE TWS PHX 2nd 2620 Oscar Olson INDY 1974 Patrick Racing Eagle Offenhauser ONT ONT ONT PHX TRE INDY MIL POC MCH MIL MCH TRE TRE PHX 9th 1445 1975 Patrick Racing Eagle Offenhauser ONT ONT ONT PHX TRE MIL 4th 2305 Wildcat DGS INDY MIL POC MCH MCH TRE PHX 1976 Patrick Racing Wildcat DGS PHX TRE INDY MIL POC MCH TWS TRE MIL ONT MCH TWS PHX 3rd 3105 1977 Patrick Racing Wildcat DGS ONT PHX TWS TRE INDY MIL POC MOS MCH TWS MIL ONT MCH PHX 6th 2635 1978 Jerry O'Connell McLaren Cosworth PHX ONT TWS TRE INDY MOS MIL POC MCH ATL TWS MIL ONT MCH SIL BRH PHX 6th 2966 Lightning TRE 1979 Patrick Racing Penske Cosworth ONT TWS INDY MIL POC TWS MIL NC 0 1981–82 Patrick Racing Wildcat Cosworth INDY POC ILL DUQ ISF INDY NC 0

CART Championship Car results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points Ref 1979 Patrick Racing Wildcat Offenhauser PHX 9th 1149 Cosworth PHX Lightning ATL ATL Penske INDY TRE TRE MCH MCH WGL TRE ONT MCH ATL

Indianapolis 500 results

YearCarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired196753 15 163.540 19 29 73 0 Crash FS196854 12 165.548 12 17 148 0 Engine196922 19 166.497 19 21 82 7 Clutch197022 24 165.601 31 17 143 0 Coil197122 23 171.159 17 24 69 0 Valve197240 33 181.626 18 15 182 0 Flagged(substitute driver for Art Pollard)197362 20 190.200 26 24 48 0 Broken rod197440 2 189.683 3 30 3 2 Piston197540 21 190.648 4 9 162 96 Piston197640 7 184.445 12 4 101 3 Flagged197740 10 189.563 13 4 199 0 Flagged19786 7 195.233 9 5 195 0 Flagged19796 7 188.285 8 27 43 0 Lost wheel1981Substitute qualifier for Mario AndrettiTotals 1448 108Starts13Poles0Front row1Wins0Top 5s3Top 10s4Retired9

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.

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