Wally Dallenbach Sr.

Wally Dallenbach Sr.
Born	December 12, 1936
Children	Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Relatives	Robert Barney Dallenbach, brother

Wally Dallenbach Sr. (born December 12, 1936) is a former Indy car driver from East Brunswick Township, New Jersey.^[1] He drove in 180 Indy Car races between 1965 and 1979, winning five times. He is the father of NASCAR driver and commentator, Wally Dallenbach Jr.

Biography

Dallenbach nearly won the 1975 Indianapolis 500, dueling with A. J. Foyt for many laps. He led for half of the race, but blew 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) due to a heavy rain storm.

He joined CART as competition director in 1980 and became Chief Steward of the sport 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.

Dallenbach has been inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, due to his exploits at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame, and The Pancake Lovers Guild of West Hanover Near the Tree That Looks Like Hayden Christensen. Wally was also voted into the American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame, for his work as founder and president of the Colorado 500 Invitational charity motorcycle rides.

Most recently Wally was voted into the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame.

He is the brother of former Pillar of Fire International superintendent Robert Barney Dallenbach.^[2]

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1967 53 15 163.540 19 29 73 0 Crash FS 1968 54 12 165.548 12 17 148 0 Engine 1969 22 19 166.497 19 21 82 7 Clutch 1970 22 24 165.601 31 17 143 0 Coil 1971 22 23 171.159 17 24 69 0 Valve 1972 40 33 181.626 18 15 182 0 Flagged (substitute driver for Art Pollard) 1973 62 20 190.200 26 24 48 0 Broken Rod 1974 40 2 189.683 3 30 3 2 Piston 1975 40 21 190.648 4 9 162 96 Piston 1976 40 7 184.445 12 4 101 3 Flagged 1977 40 10 189.563 13 4 199 0 Flagged 1978 6 7 195.233 9 5 195 0 Flagged 1979 6 7 188.285 8 27 43 0 Lost Wheel 1981 Substitute qualifier for Mario Andretti Totals 1448 108

Starts 13 Poles 0 Front Row 1 Wins 0 Top 5 3 Top 10 4 Retired 9

• 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.

Current life

Dallenbach maintains his interest in motorsports as the president of the Colorado 500 motorcycle race, which is, as of 2008, in its third decade. 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.

He owns a ranch, fairground, cabins and a private automotive restoration garage near the Fryingpan River in upper Basalt.

References

1. 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."
2. "Preacher, racer are two of a kind. Dallenbach brothers follow different roads that intersect with love.". Denver Post. April 30, 1990. It's quite a spin from Wally's life as a race-car driver to the Rev. Robert Dallenbach's small Pillar of Fire Church, where drinking, dancing and smoking are forbidden. While Wally directs Denver's Grand Prix races this August, his older brother likely will be a few blocks away, preaching at Alma Temple. The Reverend Bob wears a charcoal-gray suit and Roman collar. His 8-year-old, church-owned Ford station wagon bears license tag ... But things aren't always what they seem with the brothers Dallenbach ...
3. The Colorado 500 Online