NASCAR Hall of Famer and Former Daytona 500 Champion Passes Away
What’s Happening? Wednesday, the family of Fred Lorenzen confirmed the NASCAR Hall of Fame member passed away at the age of…
On Wednesday, the NASCAR and stock car racing worlds lost one of it’s first true icons, Fred Lorenzen. While the stats and accolades show a masterful racer, Lorenzen, like many drivers of his time, was truly one of a kind.
What’s Happening? Wednesday, the family of Fred Lorenzen confirmed the NASCAR Hall of Fame member passed away at the age of…
Fred Lorenzen found his footing in stock car racing thanks to the short tracks of the Midwest; however, this was not just in NASCAR.
At the age of 21, he entered NASCAR and made seven starts in 1956. His schedule that season featured tracks on the Midwest Northeast, like the infamous NASCAR race at the Chicago Bear’s Soldier Field and Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania. However, Lorenzen also found his way to the heart of NASCAR country as well with races at Greenville-Pickens, Hickory, and Martinsville.
This season was not that successful, and Fred stepped away from NASCAR. While he did not return to NASCAR for several years, he kept behind the wheel of a stock car. In the late 1950s, Fred dominated the USAC stock car division, winning the series championship in 1958 and 1959.
This success resulted in a return to NASCAR in 1960. However, Lorenzen, in his No. 28, failed to meet expectations, and it looked like his career could come to an end. That was, of course, until Ford’s Holman-Moody Racing came calling.
Fred became a NASCAR icon in the No. 28 for HMR. In his first season with the team, Lorenzen entered 14 races, won three, and started on the pole four times.
Over the next six seasons, Lorenzen and HMR became one of the most dominant forces on track, with the No. 28 tallying 26 total wins. Notable wins included the World 600 and the 1965 Daytona 500. Despite failing to win a season championship, Lorenzen grew a huge fan base and secured his spot as a true icon of NASCAR’s early days.
Fred retired from racing in April 1967, just five races into the season. That season, Fred had already won one race and shown decent speed in qualifying. Fred, however, had once said, “I want to go out while I’m on top. I’ve won everything that you can win, and there’s no way to go but down.” Indeed, he did go out on top.
Fred returned to racing in 1970, and while he had solid finishes, he failed to win in 29 starts from 1970 to 1972. His last race was on Sept. 24, 1972, at Martinsville, one of the first tracks he raced at in NASCAR.
NASCAR nor its fans have forgotten about Fred. In 1998, he was honored as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers alongside peers like Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, and Richard Petty. NASCAR kept Fred on this list when it expanded to 75 in 2025 as part of NASCAR’s 75th anniversary.
However, the crowning achievement of Fred’s post-racing career is his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. In 2015, NASCAR inducted Lorenzen alongside Bill Elliott, Joe Weatherly, Rex White, and Wendell Scott. This is considered one of NASCAR elite Hall of Fame classes.
In his passing, fans not only remembered him for his good looks, great nicknames like “Golden Boy,” and fast speeds but also for his dedication to growing the sport at such a crucial time in its history.
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