Fred Lorenzen, the 1965 Daytona 500 winner, is the first NASCAR driver to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease commonly found in former NFL players.
01Summary
- 01Fred Lorenzen, a Hall of Fame driver who won the 1965 Daytona 500, has been posthumously diagnosed with CTE.
- 02He is the first NASCAR driver to receive such a diagnosis.
- 03Lorenzen died in 2020 at age 86 after experiencing what his family described as '35 years of constant heartbreak'.
- 04The diagnosis was made by researchers at Boston University's CTE Center.
02Why it matters
This matters as it highlights that CTE, typically associated with contact sports like American football, can also affect motorsport drivers, raising questions about safety and long-term brain health in racing.
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