Fred Lorenzen

Fred Lorenzen
FredLorenzen1965FordGalaxy.jpg
Lorenzen's 1965 Ford Galaxie replica
BornFrederick Lorenzen Jr.
(1934-12-30) December 30, 1934 (age 87)
Elmhurst, Illinois
Achievements1958, 1959 USAC Stock Car Champion
First driver to win the same 500-mile superspeedway race three years in a row (Atlanta 500, 1962–1964).
1965 Daytona 500 Winner
First driver to win at all five of the south’s original superspeedways (Daytona, Darlington, Atlanta, Charlotte, Rockingham, 1966)br>All-time superspeedway winner upon initial retirement in 1967 (12)
1963, 1965 World 600 Winner
First NASCAR driver to surpass $100,000 in winnings in one season ($122,000 in 1963)
First driver to sweep both Martinsville races from the pole in a season (1964)
Only driver to win four consecutive 500 lap races at Martinsville
Had a 50% winning percentage in 1964 (8 wins in 16 starts)
Awards1963, 1965 Grand National Series Most Popular Driver
Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee (2001)
NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee (2015)
USAC Hall of Fame inductee (2015)
NASCAR Cup Series career
158 races run over 12 years
Best finish3rd (1963)
First race1956 untitled race (Langhorne Speedway)
Last race1972 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
First win1961 Virginia 500 (Martinsville)
Last win1967 Daytona Qualifier (100 miler counted as a series win)
Wins Top tens Poles
26 84 32
Statistics current as of April 2, 2013.

Frederick Lorenzen Jr. (born December 30, 1934), nicknamed The Golden Boy, Fast Freddie, The Elmhurst Express and Fearless Freddy, is a former NASCAR driver from Elmhurst, Illinois. Active from 1958 to 1972, he won 26 races including 1965 Daytona 500.

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 confrontation.

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, a serious problem that was rectified with a more streamlined roof halfway into the season.

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.

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 Budweiser 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

He 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

Lorenzen now lives 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 Sprint Cup, 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.

Awards

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

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