Wally Dallenbach Jr.

Walter Dallenbach Jr. (born May 23, 1963) is an American former racing driver who competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

Immediately he won the Rookie-of-the Year title in 1984, and followed that up with two Trans-Am championships.

The first one in 1985 driving for Jack Roush in a Mercury Capri.

This made Dallenbach the youngest Trans-Am champion at the age of just 22 years.

The following year Dallenbach joined the Protofab team and drove their Camaros to another championship.

Initially, Dallenbach followed the steps of his father by pursuing an open-wheel career, taking part the inaugural round of the American Racing Series in 1986, on which he raced four more times over the following two seasons, finishing 3rd at Phoenix in 1988.

One year before, he had made his CART Indy Car debut at Road America subbing for driver-owner Dick Simon, who had undergone an arm surgery after a fall off his motorbike.

The success garnered him an invitation to race in the International Race of Champions in 1987.

Dallenbach followed up those accomplishments by winning the 24 Hours of Daytona four times and the 12 Hours of Sebring three times.

He later drove in the GTO class of the IMSA GT championship, finishing runner-up in the standings in 1988 (driving for Jack Roush) and 1989.

Three years later, in 1990, he took part in three road course races at the end of the season for the Leader Cards team, in place of the departing Pancho Carter, with an 11th place finish at Denver followed by engine failures at Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca.

He competed in 226 Winston Cup races from 1991 to 2001 and had 23 top 10 finishes.

The son of open wheel racer and former CART chief steward Wally Dallenbach Sr.., Wally Jr. is also a road racer.

In addition to NASCAR, Dallenbach has raced in SCCA Trans-Am, IMSA Camel GT, CART, and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

Mostly retired from full-time driving, Dallenbach was a race commentator for NBC Sports and Turner Sports.

By 1991, Dallenbach was ready made the jump to the world of NASCAR, racing in the Winston Cup Series.

He made eleven starts that year driving one of Junie Donlavey's Fords.

In 1992, former boss Jack Roush called Dallenbach up to have him drive as a teammate to Mark Martin in the No. 16 Ford.

He drove for Roush during the 1992 and 1993 seasons, finishing second at Watkins Glen 1993, fifth at the 1991 Watkins Glen race, seventh at 1996 Sonoma, and tenth at the 1993 Daytona 500 and 1993 Talladega 500.

In 1994, Richard Petty put Dallenbach in the famous No. 43 Pontiac.

He was the second driver other than Petty to drive the No. 43.

Dallenbach finished fourth at Sonoma, eighth at Talladega and tenth at Dover, but was released part way through the season.

1995 was an up-and-down year for Dallenbach, as he did not have a full-time ride.

However, a one race deal with Bill Davis in the No. 22 Pontiac almost got Dallenbach his first Cup win at Watkins Glen, but he fell in the closing laps to finish in second.

The following years saw Dallenbach jumping around to different rides.

He was considered one of the better road course drivers and was often recruited to drive at such tracks as Sonoma and Watkins Glen, as many drivers struggled on these more demanding tracks.

In 1996 he drove the No. 15 Ford for Bud Moore Engineering, finishing sixth at the Daytona 500, third at Sonoma and tenth at Watkins Glen.

Then he drove the No. 46 First Union-sponsored Chevrolet for Felix Sabates from 1997 through part of 1998, claiming a tenth-place finish at the 1997 Watkins Glen race.

Later in 1998, Dallenbach stepped in to sub for Ricky Craven in the No. 50 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

The combination worked out well, earning three top 10s, and Dallenbach signed on to drive the No. 25 Chevrolet for 1999.

It resulted in his best position in the standings of eighteenth with six top tens.

In 2000, Dallenbach joined the new Galaxy Motorsports and drove the No. 75 Ford.

His primary responsibilities are for TNT's NASCAR coverage, a position he had held since 2001, and NBC Sports Network's IndyCar Series coverage, which he has been a part of since NBC was bought by Comcast in 2010 until 2014.

Dallenbach worked with Adam Alexander and Kyle Petty on TNT and with Leigh Diffey and Jon Beekhuis on NBC Sports Network.

In 2015 Dallenbach joined Fox NASCAR on NASCAR Race Hub.

Dallenbach was born in Basalt, Colorado.

He grew up in Denver with his father Wally Dallenbach Sr.. and mother.

After graduating high school, Dallenbach left Colorado for North Carolina to start a racing career.

He began his pro racing career in the SCCA Trans-Am Series.

After qualifying 17th, Dallenbach went off the track late in the race and retired, though he was classified in the 12th and final points paying place.