NEED TO KNOW
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NASCAR legend Fred Lorenzen was posthumously recognized with CTE, making him the primary documented case in a NASCAR driver
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Lorenzen died at age 89 on Dec. 18, 2024
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His kids, Chris and Amanda, launched the Fred Lorenzen Memorial HelpLine on the Concussion & CTE Basis
NASCAR Corridor of Famer Fred Lorenzen was posthumously recognized with CTE, making him the primary documented case of the illness in a NASCAR driver.
Lorenzen, who died on Dec. 18, 2024 at 89 years outdated, was recognized with stage 3 Continual Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) by researchers on the Boston College CTE Middle after his household shared the outcomes of his autopsy mind tissue evaluation, in accordance with the Concussion & CTE Basis.
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Earlier than his demise, Lorenzen lived with dementia for 20 years, in accordance with the Concussion & CTE Basis. In 2016, Lorenzen had the help of his kids Chris and Amanda when he pledged his mind to analysis.
Fred Lorenzen in 1962
Credit score: ISC Archives/CQ-Roll Name Group by way of Getty
Chris and Amanda launched the Fred Lorenzen Memorial HelpLine on the Concussion & CTE Basis and introduced a $1 million donation. The inspiration advantages drivers and their households on the lookout for medical care.
Lorenzen leaves behind a robust NASCAR legacy as he grew to become the primary NASCAR driver in historical past to earn $100,000 in only one season in 1965 — the identical 12 months he received the Daytona 500 in his No. 28 Holman-Moody Ford.
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In 1963 and 1965, he was voted NASCAR’s Most Fashionable Driver, and in 2015, Lorenzen was inducted into the NASCAR Corridor of Fame.
CTE, which may solely be found within the mind after demise, primarily impacts athletes who compete involved sports activities like soccer. Based on the Boston College CTE Middle, the situation has been discovered “in an awesome share of examined former NFL and high-level deal with soccer gamers.
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Most not too long ago, NFL legends Steve McMichael and Billy Ray Smith Jr. are among the many soccer gamers to be posthumously recognized.
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Dallas Cowboys participant Marshawn Kneeland, who died by suicide in November 2025, was recognized Kneeland with stage 1 CTE after a autopsy mind tissue evaluation, in accordance with the Boston College CTE Middle.
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