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Last week, we lost another popular Indianapolis 500 driver from my childhood. Wally Dallenbach was a rookie in the 1967 Indianapolis 500 and his last appearance on the track was in 1981, after he had already retired and was in his tenure as Chief Steward for CART. Dallenbach passed away last Monday April 29 at the age of 87.

I was in the stands the day when Wally Dallenbach was one of two rookies to qualify for the 1967 Indianapolis 500 on the first day of qualifying. Art Pollard was the other rookie that day. I would be lying if I said he made a big impression on me that day. I was more focused on Parnell Jones in Silent Sam, as well as AJ Foyt, Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti; than I was two rookies I had never heard of. Remember – in May of 1967, I was still only eight years old.

Dallenbach started fifteenth in that race and finished twenty-ninth, crashing out after 73 laps.

I think it was two years later in 1969, when I took note of Wally Dallenbach – but for the wrong reasons. His pit was directly across from where we were sitting in Stand A. I remember he was driving a car with Spite sponsorship, which was one of the few sponsors in the field that this ten-year old kid had heard of. It was a good looking car and we even saw a show car in Indianapolis with the same livery earlier that month. It was the first time I ever got to sit in an Indy car. I remember being so surprised how the drivers seemed to almost lie down in it. As a small kid, I couldn’t even see over the dash.

The car was in front of us a lot during the race. Every time I looked up, he was in the pits – a few times, in fire. The crew would put out the fire and send him back out. He would return a few laps later – sometimes already on fire, and sometimes it would catch fire while in the pits. It became almost comical. I remember people sitting around us and pointing every time Dallenbach returned to the pits. The box score said Dallenbach completed 82 laps, but I’m guessing the leaders had completed 40 to 50 more laps than that; by the time his crew called it quits.

Those first few years, Wally Dallenbach seemed to be one of those steady drivers that always managed to qualify, but would barely finish more than mid-pack. But in 1972, he drove for Andy Granatelli and finished fifteenth, after starting thirty-third – his best finish in the Indianapolis 500 to that point. In 1973, just after driving for Dan Gurney in the Indianapolis 500, Dallenbach moved to Pat Patrick Racing, and found a home.

The Patrick Racing years were good for Dallenbach. He won three races after joining Patrick, and came in second in the championship. He dominated the 1975 Indianapolis, leading 96 laps – more than all other drivers combined – of the rain-shorten race that ran only 174 laps. He burned a piston on Lap 162, just before the cloudburst came and Bobby Unser was declared the winner. Dallenbach swallowed a bitter pill that day, settling for ninth.

The next three Indianapolis 500s saw Dallenbach finish fourth, fourth and fifth. The fifth-place finish in 1978 was driving for Jery O’Connell, before rejoining Patrick in 1979 for the 500 only, where he finished twenty-seventh, after starting seventh. After the 1979 race, Dallenbach retired from racing.

In 1980, Dallenbach became CART’s Director of Competition, before being named Chief Steward for the series in 1981.His time on the track was not yet finished. In 1981, Mario Andretti was still racing Formula One and was to drive in the Indianapolis 500 for Roger Penske. Due to a conflict with qualifying, Andretti was unable to qualify the car. Like Mike Hiss a couple of years earlier, Dallenbach was tabbed to qualify the car, which he did easily.

Younger fans may only remember Dallenbach for his tenure as Chief Steward for CART. Unlike today’s current Race Control or some of the IndyCar Chief Stewards over the past twenty years – Dallenbach had the total respect for the entire CART paddock. His rulings were fair and just, and were unquestioned. Everyone trusted his judgment based on his extensive driving career. He served as CART Chief Steward from 1981 until 2004. During that time, driver safety was a prime focus of Dallenbach’s.

Wally Dallenbach was an excellent race car driver, who was overlooked by history unfairly. He took his lumps in racing and never complained. He loved the sport and that’s why he stuck with the top rung of the sport for almost forty years, in one capacity or another.

The night he passed away, I was saddened to see that so many fans under the age of forty had no clue who he was. His driving career had ended before they were born, and they were unaware of his contribution as a racing official for almost a quarter-century. When no one knows the name of the Chief Steward – that’s a sign they are doing a very good job.

As time goes on, more and more of the names and faces of my childhood are quickly disappearing. I know it is a natural progression of life, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I remember Dallenbach as a driver and as a race official. I also remember his trademark cowboy hat adorned with feathers. Most of all, I remember him as a man who had earned the complete and total respect of his peers. That’s not a bad way to go out.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on May 6, 2024 at 4:03 am and is filed under Indianapolis 500. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.