The family of late NASCAR driver Fred Lorenzen said Tuesday that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the first NASCAR driver to be diagnosed with the disease.
Lorenzen died in 2024 at age 89, having struggled with dementia for 20 years prior to his death. CTE can only be confirmed after death, and researchers at the Boston University CTE Center found that Lorenzen was at stage 3 CTE, out of a possible four stages, the Concussion & CTE Foundation said.
CTE is caused by repeated brain trauma, including both concussions and non-concussive impacts, and is often found in military veterans and people who play contact sports. Lorenzen was the first former NASCAR driver to have their brain studied and examined for CTE following their death, the Concussion & CTE foundation said.
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“Mr. Lorenzen had cortical-sparing CTE, which is the first identified subtype of the disease. In about 10% of CTE cases, the disease is worse in areas of the brain controlling behavior and movement, leading to behavioral symptoms and Parkinson’s-like movement disorders that start earlier in life,” Boston University CTE Center Director of Molecular Research Dr. Thor Stein, who studied the late NASCAR driver’s brain, said in the release.
Amanda Lorenzen Waldstrom, his daughter, said in the foundation’s release that “My dad struggled for many years, long before he was diagnosed with dementia in his 60s. Watching him go through that, and experiencing the impact it had on me and our family was incredibly difficult and beyond heartbreaking.”
Lorenzen’s NASCAR racing career lasted from 1956 until his first retirement in 1967, and then continued from 1970 to 1972. In his time on the track, Lorenzen started 158 races, winning 26 and having pole position in 32 of the contests, according to his listing in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which he was inducted into in 2015.
Lorenzen was also the first NASCAR racer to bring home more than $100,000 in prize money in a single year even though he never ran a full NASCAR Cup Series schedule in any of his years competing, per the NASCAR Hall of Fame website.
The family of former NASCAR driver and former Fox Sports NASCAR broadcaster Darrell Waltrip, 79, has also indicated that he could be suffering from the disease.
Last month, Waltrip’s family disclosed in a statement that he would be stepping out of the limelight after being diagnosed with frontotemporal degeneration “complicated by possible Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) — likely from injuries incurred during his racing career,” according to Fox Sports.
“While this disease will inevitably progress, thankfully, it is currently limited to some minor noticeable symptoms. … Be assured, Darrell is happy and otherwise healthy — spending his time with his wife, Stevie, two daughters and his three young grandchildren. We are all grateful for your continued prayer, love and support!” Waltrip’s family said, according to Fox Sports.
Lorenzen’s son, Chris Lorenzen, told USA Today that when he heard about the Waltrip family statement, “In my head, it was like, we already know that. Just in my opinion, if we’re seeing all these former NFL players with CTE from head injuries, how would NASCAR be any different? This is going high speeds, into a wall, into another car. It’s the same thing.”
A number of other U.S. racing stars have pledged to donate their brains for study and possible CTE diagnosis, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jerry Nadeau from NASCAR, IndyCar Series driver Dario Franchitti and National Hot Rod Association drivers Ron Capps and Leah Pruett, according to USA Today.
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