RELATED: See photos of Lorenzen’s career
Moved by Dale Earnhardt Jr. ‘s advocacy on the issue of concussions, NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen will donate his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation upon his death, the driver’s daughter Amanda told the Associated Press.
“As a family, we decided we wanted to support Dale Jr. and all work together toward a healthy future for these drivers,” Amanda Lorenzen Gardstrom told the AP in a story published Saturday.
Earlier this week Hendrick Motorsports announced that Earnhardt Jr. would miss Sunday’s race at New Hampshire due to concussion-like symptoms. The driver thought he had a severe sinus infection, according to the team, and sought treatment from a doctor who delivered that diagnosis.
Lorenzen was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2015. He made just 158 premier series starts in his career, but the “Golden Boy” won 26 times from 1961-67, topping both Richard Petty and David Pearson during that span.
Now 81, Lorenzen has fought the effects of dementia for years. NASCAR.com previously documented his battle in a 2014 feature.
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