At a time when barrier-softening technology was non-existent as cars crashed head-on into concrete walls at high speeds, NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen was making his rise to stardom even though he was a part-time driver.
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Popular with fans, Lorenzen became NASCAR's first $100,000 driver and was the 1965 winner of the Daytona 500, memories the now 81-year-old is slowly forgetting amid a fight with dementia.
Lorenzen was found to have dementia in 2009 along with short-term memory loss and plans to donate his brain to Concussion Legacy Foundation, his family announced Friday.