Fred Lorenzen faced some of the toughest battles of his life away from the racetrack. He spent nearly two decades battling dementia before his death in December 2024. A posthumous examination later revealed that he had Stage 3 CTE. Now, his family wants to turn that painful chapter into something meaningful by helping other drivers and their families facing similar struggles. They have already pledged $1 million toward the cause, and they also wanted NASCAR to show up for the initiative. But those plans have hit a standstill.

NASCAR has declined to partner with Fred Lorenzen’s family on a proposed CTE research initiative, despite months of discussions and a plan to expand existing studies at Boston University. The sanctioning body said it had decided after carefully reviewing the proposal and consulting its existing medical partners.

“After careful consideration and consultation with existing medical partners, we have determined that a different approach will better align with how we intend to advance our efforts in this area,” NASCAR stated.

They went on to defend their decision, saying, “Our decision should not be interpreted as a reflection on the importance or value of this work. Rather, it reflects our commitment to continuing this longstanding, medically informed approach to driver health and wellness and to focusing our resources on the research, technologies, and safety initiatives we believe can have the greatest impact.”

NASCAR pointed to its Medical Advisory Group of Consulting Physicians, mandatory baseline concussion testing, and partnership with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to treat head injuries.

But what exactly was the family asking NASCAR to support? According to Lorenzen’s daughter, Amanda Lorenzen Gardstrom, the family presented two proposals specifically designed to accelerate and expand existing National Institutes of Health-funded studies led by Boston University’s CTE Center.

The proposals called for NASCAR to contribute up to $1 million annually over three years, potentially bringing its contribution to $3 million. The family had already pledged $1 million of its own money to the Concussion & CTE Foundation, while Chris Lorenzen also offered to match any amount contributed by NASCAR.

NASCAR also chose to lay the focus on the ongoing research with Wake Forest University, where mouthpiece sensors measure drivers’ head movements during racing and crashes. Data from that research has already contributed to changes at Watkins Glen, including modifications to the bus stop that reportedly reduced mouthpiece events by 53%.

But the family’s concerns extend beyond the safety of drivers currently competing in NASCAR. Gardstrom acknowledged the sanctioning body’s efforts to make racing safer, yet questioned whether those initiatives adequately address former competitors who may be experiencing neurological problems years after retirement.

“To my knowledge, I don’t know of any programs that they are involved in that are based on research for CTE specifically that would help drivers post-career,” she said during an appearance on Racing Report with Chris Weaver.

She also revealed that she was in contact with two other families of former drivers dealing with possible CTE. That raises a difficult question for a sport that has spent decades improving its cars, tracks, and protective equipment: what happens to the drivers who competed before many of those advancements existed?

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head impacts. Those impacts do not necessarily have to result in diagnosed concussions. Researchers believe the condition involves the abnormal buildup of tau protein in the brain, which can damage nerve cells over time.

Memory problems, cognitive decline, behavioral changes, and movement difficulties can occur, although symptoms vary between individuals. Unlike many other neurological conditions, CTE cannot currently be definitively diagnosed in living patients. Confirmation requires an examination of brain tissue after death, making research and brain donation particularly important.

The condition first gained wider attention through boxing, where repeated blows to the head were associated with what was historically called “punch-drunk syndrome.” It later became a major subject of research in American football, particularly after former Pittsburgh Steelers player Mike Webster’s brain showed evidence of CTE in a 2005 study.

Since then, researchers have examined the effects of repetitive head trauma across several sports and other professions. Auto racing has not traditionally occupied the same place in the public CTE conversation, but drivers also experience repeated impacts, even when they walk away from crashes without an immediately apparent concussion.

That distinction becomes especially important when looking back at Lorenzen’s era. He competed from 1956 to 1972, when modern driver protection systems and today’s understanding of traumatic brain injuries were not part of the sport. NASCAR had not yet introduced the extensive safety measures that followed Dale Earnhardt’s fatal 2001 Daytona 500 crash, including mandatory HANS devices, full-face helmets, and SAFER barriers.

Earlier generations of drivers faced a very different safety environment, with repeated crashes and serious injuries forming part of the risks of competition. Lorenzen himself had 16 documented crashes during his career.

His posthumous Stage 3 CTE diagnosis has therefore opened a conversation that reaches well beyond one family. NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip’s family also recently disclosed that he has frontotemporal degeneration complicated by possible CTE, which it believes may be connected to his racing career. That is not a confirmed CTE diagnosis, but it adds to the concerns surrounding the long-term health of former drivers.

Lorenzen, known as the “Golden Boy,” recorded 26 victories, 32 poles, and 84 top-10s in 158 NASCAR starts. His 1965 Daytona 500 victory remains one of the defining achievements of his career, and he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015.

Now, the discussion surrounding his legacy has shifted toward a question the sport can no longer overlook: how does it protect the health of the drivers who helped build NASCAR long after they leave the track?