Fred Lorenzen

Fred Lorenzen
Born	Frederick Lorenzen Jr. (1934-12-30)December 30, 1934 Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 18, 2024(2024-12-18) (aged 89)
Championship titles
USAC Stock Car (1958, 1959) Major victories World 600 (1963, 1965) Daytona 500 (1965)
AAA/USAC Stock Car career
Years active	1956–1959, 1964
Championships	2
Best finish	1st in 1958, 1959
NASCAR Cup Series career
158 races run over 12 years
Best finish	3rd (1963)
First race	1956 Race 11 (Langhorne)
Last race	1972 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
First win	1961 Virginia 500 (Martinsville)
Last win	1967 Daytona Qualifier #2 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 26 84 32

Frederick Lorenzen Jr. (December 30, 1934 – December 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Golden Boy", "Fast Freddie", "the Elmhurst Express" and "Fearless Freddy", was an American NASCAR driver from Elmhurst, Illinois. Active from 1958 to 1972, he won 26 races including 1965 Daytona 500. Lorenzen died on December 18th, 2024 due to complications from dementia.

Early life

Fred Lorenzen was 15 years of age when he and his Elmhurst, Illinois, friends competed in a contest to see who could flip a 1937 Plymouth over first by cranking it around in circles. Lorenzen claimed to be the victor of that tourney.

NASCAR

Early career

After graduating from high school, Lorenzen began racing modifieds and late models, and made his NASCAR debut in 1956 at Langhorne Speedway, finishing 26th after suffering a broken fuel pump, winning $25. He moved to a USAC stock car, and won the 1958 and 1959 championships driving his Talarico Bros. built Chevrolet.

The Holman Moody Years

On Christmas Eve 1960, Lorenzen received a phone call from team owner Ralph Moody that would change his career. Moody asked Lorenzen about becoming his team's lead driver. A surprised Lorenzen accepted, albeit curious as to what he'd done to fulfill Moody's criteria to be part of his team.

In 1961, Lorenzen began winning races in what would become a remarkable career. For five years from 1961 till 1966, Lorenzen dominated NASCAR like few other drivers ever would winning many major races and defeating the best drivers of his day.

In his maiden season with Holman Moody, Lorenzen won: the Grand National 200 at Martinsville; the Rebel 300 at Darlington and the Festival 250 at Atlanta. There was no doubt that Lorenzen would challenge the all-time greats for the top prizes in NASCAR.

Lorenzen's winning streak (1962–1967)

In 1962, Lorenzen won the Atlanta 500 and a race at Augusta Speedway. The 1962 Ford was troubled at the start of the season by inferior aerodynamics. Ford introduced a Starlift option for the convertible that rectified this issue. The Atlanta 500 was the only race it was used. NASCAR banned it since it didn't completely cover and was obviously only for a racing advantage.

In 1963, Lorenzen soared to the top and became the top money-winner and the first to break the $100,000 barrier in one season. In that amazing year, Lorenzen won: the Atlanta 500, the World 600; the Volunteer 500, the Western North Carolina 500; the Mountaineer 300 and the Old Dominion 500 bringing his total winnings to $122,000.

In 1964, Lorenzen won: the Southeastern 500 at Bristol; the Atlanta 500; the Gwyn Staley 400 at North Wilkesboro; the Virginia 500 at Martinsville; the Rebel 300 at Darlington; the Volunteer 500; the Old Dominion 500, and the National 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway; six of those races are current "classics" on the Sprint Cup Circuit as of 2013. He also won USAC-sanctioned Yankee 300.

Lorenzen's 1965 Ford Galaxie replica

In 1965 Lorenzen won: the Daytona 500; the Virginia 500; the World 600, and the National 400.

In 1966 Lorenzen won: the Old Dominion 500 and the American 500 at Rockingham, North Carolina.

In 1967 Lorenzen won: the Daytona 500 Qualifier (until 1971, the races currently called the Bluegreen vacations Duels were points races).

Lorenzen compiled an amazing record of wins that clearly made him the dominant driver of NASCAR during a very significant portion of its Golden Era.

The Yellow Banana

In one race in 1966 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he drove a Junior Johnson-owned No. 26 Ford due to the Ford boycott of NASCAR for much of the 1966 season, and it is still one of the most talked about vehicles in NASCAR Grand National Competition to this day. The front end of the car was sloped downward, the roofline was lowered, the side windows were narrowed and the windshield was lowered in an aerodynamic position, and the tail was kicked up. Several rival drivers referred to it as "The Yellow Banana," "Junior's Joke," and "The Magnafluxed Monster." Even though it was against the rules NASCAR allowed the car to compete and Lorenzen crashed while leading the Dixie 500 on the 139th lap. One pit crew member said after the incident "No wonder" he said, "I ain't never seen anybody who could drive a banana at 150 mile an hour." NASCAR let this very illegal car run in only one race, in an attempt to bring up attendance, which had suffered due to the Ford boycott.

Comeback

Lorenzen came back in 1970, driving a Dodge Daytona prepared by Ray Fox in the World 600 (now the Coca-Cola 600), but dropped out while leading on lap 252 of 400 due to engine issues, running in a few more events that year, including substituting for LeeRoy Yarbrough in the Junior Johnson No. 98 Ford Torino Talladega in that year's Southern 500, as Yarbrough had a prior Indy car commitment. In 1971, he moved over to the Ray Nichels/Paul Goldsmith owned No. 99 Plymouth, sponsored by STP. He left that team part way through the season, and was badly injured in a practice crash while trying to drive for the Wood Brothers prior to the Southern 500. In 1972, he hooked up with Hoss Ellington driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, to little success. His last start came at the 1972 Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Later life and death

Lorenzen lived in assisted living in a suburb of Chicago surrounded by his family. In his heyday from 1962–65, Lorenzen was the top driver in NASCAR. On the super speedways, Lorenzen defeated all of his competition to compile an unprecedented streak of wins in major races. Racing for money instead of points, Lorenzen never competed for the annual Grand National championship, but he won the big races that made him the uncrowned King of NASCAR during its golden years. Lorenzen's countless fans waited for a long time for Lorenzen's brilliant career to be recognized with his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Lorenzen died from complications of dementia on December 18, 2024, at the age of 89.

Awards

• Inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001.
• Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
• Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January 2015.

Quotes

• "When NASCAR lost Fireball Roberts it was like Santa Claus doesn't exist at Christmas and it just took everything out of the race"—Thoughts on Fireball Roberts' death.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60	61	62	NGNC	Pts	Ref
1956	Fred Lorenzen	50	Chevy	HCY	CLT	WSS	PBS	ASF	DAB	PBS	WIL	ATL	NWS	LAN 26	RCH																																																			120th	-
		150														CLB 20	CON 22	GPS 21	HCY 20	HBO	MAR 24	LIN	CLT	POR	EUR	NYF	MER	MAS	CLT	MCF	POR	AWS	RSP	PIF	CSF	CHI 20	CCF	MGY	OKL	ROA DNQ	OBS	SAN	NOR	PIF	MYB	POR	DAR	CSH	CLT	LAN	POR	CLB	HBO	NWP	CLT	CCF	MAR	HCY	WIL
1960	Fred Lorenzen	28	Ford	CLT	CLB	DAY 3	DAY	DAY 8	CLT	NWS	PHO	CLB	MAR 18	HCY	WIL	BGS	GPS	AWS	DAR	PIF	HBO	RCH	HMS	CLT 41	BGS	DAY 3	HEI	MAB	MBS	ATL 5	BIR	NSV	AWS	PIF	CLB	SBO	BGS	DAR 28	HCY	CSF	GSP	HBO	MAR 12	NWS	CLT 50	RCH	ATL 10																			15th	6764
1961	Tubby Gonzales	80	Ford	CLT	JSP	DAY	DAY	DAY 4	PIF	AWS	HMS																																																							19th	9316
	Holman-Moody	28	Ford									ATL 33	GPS	HBO	BGS	MAR 1	NWS 19	CLB	HCY	RCH	MAR 11*	DAR 1	CLT 5*	CLT	RSD	ASP	CLT 35	PIF	BIR	GPS	BGS	NOR	HAS	STR	DAY 2	ATL 1*	CLB	MBS	BRI 33	NSV	BGS	AWS	RCH	SBO	DAR 29	HCY	RCH	CSF	ATL 36	MAR 18	NWS DNQ	CLT 31	BRI	GPS	HBO
1962				CON	AWS	DAY 24	DAY	DAY 5	CON 16	AWS	SVH	HBO	RCH	CLB	NWS 2	GPS	MBS	MAR 4	BGS	BRI 34	RCH	HCY	CON	DAR 3	PIF		ATL 1	BGS	AUG	RCH	SBO	DAY 24	CLB	ASH	GPS	AUG	SVH	MBS	BRI 2	CHT	NSV	HUN	AWS	STR	BGS	PIF	VAL	DAR 24					MAR 28	NWS 6	CLT 3	ATL 5										7th	17554
		0																								CLT 3
		26																																															HCY 20	RCH 3	DTS	AUG 1
1963	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Ford	BIR	GGS	THS	RSD 22	DAY																																																										3rd	29684
	Holman-Moody	28	Ford						DAY 3	DAY 2	PIF	AWS	HBO	ATL 1	HCY	BRI 2*	AUG					MAR 5*	NWS 2	CLB	THS	DAR 30	ODS	RCH	CLT 1	BIR	ATL 2	DAY 2	MBS	SVH	DTS	BGS	ASH	OBS 3	BRR 2	BRI 1*	GPS	NSV 18	CLB	AWS 1*	PIF	BGS	ONA 1*	DAR 3	HCY 9	RCH 5	MAR 1*	DTS 5	NWS 2	THS 5*	CLT 2	SBO	HBO	RSD 32
	McKinney Racing	44	Ford															RCH 22	GPS 19	SBO	BGS 6
1964	Holman-Moody	28	Ford	CON	AUG 28	JSP	SVH	RSD 17	DAY	DAY 17	DAY 31	RCH	BRI 1*	GPS	BGS	ATL 1*	AWS	HBO	PIF	CLB	NWS 1*	MAR 1*	SVH	DAR 1*	LGY	HCY	SBO	CLT 4	GPS	ASH	ATL 31	CON	NSV	CHT	BIR	VAL	PIF	DAY 34	ODS	OBS	BRR	ISP	GLN	LIN	BRI 1	NSV	MBS	AWS	DTS	ONA	CLB	BGS	STR	DAR 22	HCY	RCH	ODS	HBO	MAR 1*	SVH	NWS 2	CLT 1	HAR	AUG	JAC	13th	18098
1965				RSD 24	DAY	DAY 2	DAY 1	PIF	AWS	RCH	HBO	ATL 16	GPS	NWS 7	MAR 1*	CLB	BRI 27	DAR 25	LGY	BGS	HCY	CLT 1*	CCF	ASH	HAR	NSV	BIR	ATL 23	GPS	MBS	VAL	DAY 31	ODS	OBS	ISP	GLN	BRI 20	NSV	CCF	AWS	SMR	PIF	AUG	CLB	DTS	BLV	BGS	DAR 11	HCY	LIN	ODS	RCH	MAR 21	NWS 19	CLT 1	HBO	CAR 27	DTS								13th	18448
1966				AUG	RSD	DAY 5	DAY	DAY 4	CAR 26	BRI 22	ATL 2	HCY	CLB	GPS	BGS	NWS	MAR	DAR	LGY	MGR	MON	RCH	CLT	DTS	ASH	PIF	SMR	AWS	BLV	GPS	DAY	ODS	BRR	OXF	FON	ISP	BRI	SMR	NSV						DAR 5	HCY	RCH	HBO	MAR 1	NWS 23*	CLT 25	CAR 1*														23rd	12454
		26																																						ATL 23	CLB	AWS	BLV	BGS
1967		28		AUG	RSD 15	DAY	DAY 1	DAY 2	AWS	BRI 15	GPS	BGS	ATL 28	CLB	HCY	NWS	MAR	SVH	RCH	DAR	BLV	LGY	CLT	ASH	MGR	SMR	BIR	CAR	GPS	MGY	DAY	TRN	OXF	FDA	ISP	BRI	SMR	NSV	ATL	BGS	CLB	SVH	DAR	HCY	RCH	BLV	HBO	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	AWS														29th	9268
1970	Fox Racing	28	Dodge	RSD	DAY	DAY	DAY	RCH	CAR	SVH	ATL	BRI	TAL	NWS	CLB	DAR	BLV	LGY	CLT 24	SMR	MAR	MCH	RSD	HCY	KPT	GPS	DAY 32	AST	TPN	TRN	BRI 27	SMR	NSV	ATL 22	CLB	ONA	MCH	TAL	BGS	SBO																										54th	231
	Junior Johnson & Associates	98	Ford																																						DAR 33	HCY	RCH	DOV	NCF	NWS
	Fox Racing	3	Dodge																																												CLT 3	MAR	MGR	CAR	LGY
1971	Nichels Engineering	99	Plymouth	RSD	DAY 5	DAY	DAY 5	ONT 30	RCH	CAR 4	HCY	BRI	ATL 35	CLB	GPS	SMR	NWS	MAR 20	DAR 18	SBO	TAL 5	ASH	KPT	CLT 5	DOV 2	MCH 7	RSD	HOU	GPS	DAY 7	BRI	AST	ISP	TRN	NSV	ATL	BGS	ONA	MCH	TAL 4	CLB	HCY	DAR	MAR	CLT	DOV 31	CAR	MGR	RCH	NWS	TWS															45th	611

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1972	Ellington Racing	28	Ford	RSD	DAY	RCH	ONT	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR 29	NWS	MAR	TAL 4	CLT 18	DOV	MCH	RSD	TWS	DAY	BRI														39th	1333.5
	Donlavey Racing	90	Ford																			TRN 4
	Ellington Racing	28	Chevy																				ATL 6	TAL 20	MCH	NSV	DAR 4	RCH	DOV	MAR 27	NWS	CLT	CAR	TWS

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1960	Fred Lorenzen	Ford	5	8
1961	Tubby Gonzales	Ford	45	4
1962	Holman-Moody	Ford	34	5
1963			2	2
1964			34	31
1965			4	1
1966			9	4
1967			4	2
1971	Nichels Engineering	Plymouth	9	5

External links

• Official website
• Fred Lorenzen at IMDb
• Fred Lorenzen driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Fred Lorenzen Wins