Sad News - Fred Lorenzen

Yesterday at 03:50 PM

2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame member Fred Lorenzen has passed away at the age of 89.

Lorenzen got his start as a mechanic with the famed Holman-Moody in 1960, but was elevated to lead driver by the end of the year.

Lorenzen won three races in only 15 starts the following season. Lorenzen‘s best overall season came in 1963 as he finished with six wins, 21 top fives and 23 top 10s in 29 starts. Despite missing 26 races that season, he finished third in the standings.

In 1964, he entered 16 of the scheduled 62 races but won eight, including five consecutive starts. During that stretch, Lorenzen led 1,679 of the possible 1,953 laps, one of the most dominant runs in NASCAR history. In 1965, he won two of NASCAR‘s major events —the Daytona 500 and the World 600.

Lorenzen retired in 1967 but made a brief comeback from 1970-1972. Lorenzen was an extremely popular driver with fans, to the point that he had several nicknames—"Golden Boy," "Fearless Freddie" and "The Elmhurst Express." In 1998, he was named one of NASCAR‘s 50 Greatest Drivers.

— NASCAR Hall of Fame —

NASCAR Statement:

"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. 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. On behalf of the France family and all of NASCAR, I want to offer our condolences to the friends and family of Fred Lorenzen."  – Jim France, NASCAR Chairman & CEO