The NASCAR world has its first, confirmed case of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
Former NASCAR Cup Series driver, Fred Lorenzen, passed away in December of 2024 at the age of 89. His cause of death was complications of dementia, which Lorenzen lived with for 20 years. Eight years before his death, the NASCAR Hall of Famer pledged to donate his brain for research.
Because of that pledge, and the work of researchers at the Boston University CTE Center, the 26-time winner is the first ever NASCAR driver to officially be diagnosed with CTE.
According to the Concussion & CTE Foundation, Lorenzen was posthumously diagnosed with stage 3 CTE. It’s a first for the racing world, and obviously, the progressive, neurodegenerative brain disease is typically more associated with sports like wrestling, soccer, and most notably, football. But repeated, cumulative hits to the head is a real concern for NASCAR drivers too… and this finding is the first confirmed case of CTE in a former driver.
Dr. Thor Stein, the director of molecular research at the Boston University CTE Center, is the neuropathologist who actually studied Lorenzen’s brain. He shared this statement to the Concussion & CTE Foundation explaining what was found when the former NASCAR driver’s brain was closely examined:
“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.”
The family of Lorenzen apparently reached out to higher ups in NASCAR to share the news of the diagnosis, and asked them to join an initiative to support former drivers with CTE and their families. For whatever reason (possibly a lack of total cases), NASCAR declined to join… so the Lorenzen family moved forward on their own with $1 million donation to the Concussion & CTE Foundation.
The son of Fred Lorenzen, Chris, was disappointed by NASCAR’s response. But he and the rest of his family decided to move forward anyways and support the work being done at the Concussion & CTE Foundation:
“My dad’s dementia care came at a significant financial and emotional cost to our family. We had hoped NASCAR would join us in this effort, and while we’re disappointed that hasn’t happened, we remain hopeful there will be opportunities to work together to support the drivers who helped build the sport.
Our family is proud to make this investment in CTE research, and we hope it brings us closer to a future where we can diagnose this disease in living patients, develop effective treatments, and ultimately find a cure.”
Their donation helped to create the Fred Lorenzen Memorial Helpline at the Concussion & CTE Foundation.
Though Lorenzen himself didn’t receive help from NASCAR with dementia treatment and care for other neurological symptoms, his family hopes that the racing organization will come around and eventually help with treatment (the NFL does help former players with qualifying neurodegenerative conditions, though mainly through settlements).
NASCAR Hall of Famer, Darrell Waltrip, recently released a statement sharing he’s been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) likely being complicated by CTE, and stemming from injuries he sustained during his racing career. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who famously suffered from concussion symptoms during the 2016 season, has already pledged to donate his brain to science to help further study the impact and connection between racing and CTE.
