CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Fred Lorenzen, a NASCAR Hall of Famer and the 1965 Daytona 500 champion, died Wednesday. He was 89.
NASCAR released a statement that Lorenzen had died and had confirmed the death with his family. A cause of death wasn’t given, but Lorenzen had been in declining health for years.
In 1998, he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.
One of NASCAR’s first superstars, Lorenzen was known as the “Golden Boy” for his rugged, movie-star looks. He won 26 career Cup races and made starts in 12 seasons from 1956 to 1972.
“Fred Lorenzen was one of NASCAR’s first true superstars. A fan favorite, he helped NASCAR expand from its original roots. Fred was the picture-perfect NASCAR star, helping to bring the sport to the silver screen — which further grew NASCAR’s popularity during its early years," NASCAR Chairman Jim France said in a statement. “For many years, NASCAR’s ‘Golden Boy’ was also its gold standard, a fact that eventually led him to the sport’s pinnacle, a rightful place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”
In 1964, Lorenzen entered 16 of the scheduled 62 races and won eight, including five consecutive starts. During that stretch, Lorenzen led 1,679 of the possible 1,953 laps, one of the more dominant stretches in NASCAR history.
He was the first driver in NASCAR to earn more than $100,000 in a single season, which he did in 1963.
Lorenzen battled dementia in his later years and pledged his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
His daughter, Amanda Lorenzen Gardstrom, told The Associated Press in 2016 she was convinced Lorenzen had CTE from years of brutal wrecks and hits from the 1960s, one of the most dangerous eras in racing history.
“He never stopped to heal,” she said.
His daughter said Lorenzen first showed signs of dementia around 2006. He had memory loss and used a wheelchair at Oak Brook Healthcare in Illinois.
The Elmhurst, Illinois, native was one of NASCAR’s first stars to hail from outside the sport’s Southern roots.
“The hardest part right now is that his racing memories are starting to go,” Gardstrom said in 2016. “That was the one thing that was really wonderful, to connect and see him light up when he talked about racing.”
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson was part of a 54-member panel that picked Lorenzen for induction into the hall in 2015. Tony Stewart introduced Lorenzen at his hall induction.
“He was such a humble guy, that I don’t think he ever realized what an impact he had on the sport,” Gardstrom said.
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