INDIANAPOLIS – Racing legends Wally Dallenbach Sr. and Danny Sullivan comprise the 2022 inductee class of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.
The two drivers will be honored at the 2022 Induction Ceremony and Indianapolis 500 Oldtimers Dinner hosted by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and the Indianapolis 500 Oldtimers on Thursday, May 26, in Downtown Indianapolis.
The two were chosen from a ballot of 14 nominees by a distinguished panel of more than 140 auto racing journalists, participants, and historians.Â
“The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame voting panel has selected two outstanding honorees for this year,” said Joe Hale, President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, which houses the Hall of Fame. “Wally Dallenbach’s success on the track as a driver led him to be a champion for driver safety as an official. Danny Sullivan had an impressive career as a driver and what sticks with many of us is his memorable win at the 1985 Indianapolis 500.”
Dallenbach, the 1973 Ontario 500 winner, came close to winning the 1975 Indianapolis 500, where he led 96 of the first 161 laps, at which point he was forced out with a burned piston. Less than 15 minutes later, the race was halted permanently by a heavy rainstorm. He drove in 180 Championship events between 1965 and 1979, winning five races and finishing within the first five 58 times. Dallenbach was runner-up in the 1973 USAC National Championship standings and was 3rd in 1976. Additionally, he had 13 starts in the Indianapolis 500.
Dallenbach served as the highly respected Chief Steward for every CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) sanctioned event held between 1981 and 2004. Calling upon a wide range of experiences amassed during his 20-plus years as a driver, he officiated with great compassion, understanding, and fairness. As with other drivers who later became officials, Dallenbach made numerous contributions to implementing more important safety requirements within the sport.
Sullivan is remembered for his “spin-and-win” victory in the 1985 Indianapolis 500, when he spun directly in front of Mario Andretti at lap 120, regrouped, and then passed Andretti again at lap 140 for the win. Sullivan also dominated the entire first half of the 1988 Indianapolis 500, seemingly headed for a second victory until a handling problem caused him to hit the wall after he had led for 91 of the first 101 laps.
Sullivan won 17 CART-sanctioned events between 1984 and 1993, including three at Cleveland and two at the Pocono 500 and the Laguna Seca road course. He won the season title in 1988 and was third in 1986. In sports car racing, Sullivan won the late-season Can-Am event at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in 1981 and 1982; and in 1994 shared the third place-finishing Dauer 962LM Porsche in the 24-Hours of Le Mans. In 1983, he partnered with Michele Alboreto on the Tyrrell team as one of the few drivers competing for the F1 World Championship with a non-turbocharged engine. He placed fifth at Monaco and was second to Keke Rosberg in the non-points-paying Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, England.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame honors and celebrates the contributions and achievements of an exclusive group of individuals at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was founded in 1952 as the Auto Racing Hall of Fame under the auspices of the Contest Board of the American Automobile Association (AAA). The Hall of Fame was moved to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum under the direction of then-Speedway president Anton “Tony” Hulman Jr. in 1962.