Johnathan Walker:Wally Dallenbach, former IndyCar driver and CART chief steward, dies at 87

Wally Dallenbach,Johnathan Walker a regular presence in the Indianapolis 500 in the 1960s and ‘70s who went on to become one of the most respected series officials in modern-day IndyCar history, died Monday, according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Association. He was 87 years old.

“Wally Dallenbach made a huge contribution to our sport for five decades as a driver and official,” IndyCar and IMS said in a joint statement. “He was a talented competitor behind the wheel who always raced hard but clean. That sense of fairness and decency extended to his legendary tenure as chief steward of CART, where he was respected and liked by all for his steady, sensible officiating.

“Wally’s many contributions to racing safety, especially a traveling medical team, will resonate long into the future. He was one of the true good guys of open-wheel racing, and our thoughts and prayers and sympathies are with his family.”

A native of East Brunswick, New Jersey, Dallenbach’s motorsports career began with drag racing on the East Coast before he switched to oval racing in midgets and sprint cars. He made his major American open-wheel racing debut in 1965 at Langhorne Speedway, sparking a career in the sport that would last until 1979. Across 180 IndyCar starts, Dallenbach amassed five victories, 27 podium finishes and a single pole.

Three of those wins, as well as his pole, came across a three-race stretch during his 1973 campaign with Patrick Racing – capped by his most famous victory: the 1973 California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway. Dallenbach would go on to finish second in the championship that season to Roger McCluskey, despite not qualifying for the first two races of the year.

The eventual Hall of Famer would make 13 Indy 500 starts from 1967-79 with a best finish of fourth in 1976 and ’77, in the No. 40 Wildcat/DGS for Patrick Racing. His best start came in the middle of the front row in 1974 for Patrick.

But undoubtedly his most famous moments at the Racing Capital of the World came in 1975, when he led four times for a race-high 96 laps, only briefly losing the lead on pitstops. On Lap 162, with Dallenbach leading, the Patrick Racing driver suffered a burnt piston and was forced to retire. Just 12 laps later, the race was called due to rain, with Bobby Unser earning his second win in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Dallenbach would be credited with ninth place.

“Wally (Dallenbach) was as good a teammate as you could ever ask for,” said Patrick teammate and two-time 500-winning driver Gordon Johncock. “He took racing seriously. I’ve never met anyone at the track as helpful as Wally.

“There are a handful of very, very talented drivers that never won Indianapolis. Winning Indy takes a lot of luck, too, and Wally should’ve won. He was very talented and smart. I’ll miss him. He did a lot for the sport over the years. A very good man.”

Wallenbach’s final IndyCar start came in 1979 at Phoenix, but he’d famously step into the cockpit in a high-pressure moment one last time. Two years later, rain ruined the first weekend of 500 qualifying, and Mario Andretti, racing for Patrick at the time, didn’t get a chance to record a time. The second qualifying weekend, he had a clash with his Formula 1 schedule – the Belgian Grand Prix. Dallenbach, the Patrick Racing veteran, agreed to attempt to qualify Andretti’s No. 40 STP Oil Treatment Wildcat/Cosworth and slotted in eighth.

Because Andretti would go on to race the car instead of the retired veteran, the No. 40 was forced to move toward the back of the grid – starting 32nd. From there, Andretti would go on to complete one of the most stunning race-day performances ever seen, working his way up into the lead, pacing 12 laps overall before finishing second to Bobby Unser – results that would be appealed multiple times (once ruling Andretti the winner) before eventually settling with the original finishing order.

Out of the cockpit, Dallenbach became CART’s first competition director and chief steward in 1980, holding onto the chief steward role until 2004. Alongside doctors Steve Olvey and Terry Trammell, as well as safety directors Steve Edwards and Lon Bromley, Dallenbach’s tenure saw the addition of a traveling safety team of doctors, nurses and med techs that followed the series’ schedule around the country. His safety-focused vision also led to enhancements in chassis construction that led to the use of more energy-absorbing materials.

Dallenbach’s other racing love, motorcycles, spawned the Colorado 500 dirt-bike ride, after he moved to a ranch in Basalt, Colorado, after his championship runner-up 1973 campaign. Launched in 1976, the invite-only ride grew so big that by 1981, the Colorado 500 Charity Fund was created. In the decades since, it’s raised more than $1.2 million for scholarship funds, medical centers, teen services, scouting and other charities.

Through his decades in and around the racing world, Dallenbach was enshrined in multiple Halls of Fame, including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Hall of Fame and state sports halls of fame in both Colorado and his native New Jersey.

Dallenbach is survived by three children – two sons, former NASCAR Cup series driver Wally Jr. and multi-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner Paul, and his daughter Colleen. Dallenbach’s wife, Peppy, died in 2023.