Fred Lorenzen, the Elmhurst-born NASCAR Hall of Famer known as "The Elmhurst Express," has been posthumously diagnosed with stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), his family revealed Tuesday, Oct. 20.

Lorenzen is the first former NASCAR driver to receive a CTE diagnosis, USA Today first reported. Researchers at the Boston University CTE Center examined his brain tissue and found a rare subtype of the degenerative brain disease called cortical-sparing CTE, present in about 11% of all CTE cases.

Lorenzen died Dec. 18, 2024, at age 89 after living with dementia for 20 years. He had spent his final years in an assisted living facility under around-the-clock care, unable to walk and losing cognitive function.

His children, Chris Lorenzen and Amanda Lorenzen-Gardstrom, shared the diagnosis results and announced a $1 million donation to the Concussion & CTE Foundation. The gift will create the Fred Lorenzen Memorial HelpLine, a free service for current or former auto racing drivers and their families dealing with long-term symptoms of concussion or CTE, according to the foundation's website.

"It's overwhelming to get to where we are today," Amanda told USA Today. "There were so many stages of grief, of loss and not understanding things. It makes me understand why."

Born in Elmhurst on Dec. 30, 1934, Lorenzen grew up racing a homemade go-kart powered by a lawn mower engine through neighborhood streets until police took it away. He graduated from York Community High School and began racing modifieds and late models in Illinois before making his NASCAR debut in 1956, according to Elmhurst Magazine.

After retiring from racing, Lorenzen started a family in Elmhurst and sold real estate. "He was a popular guy in the community," Chris told Elmhurst Magazine in a 2025 profile, "but we didn't know he was famous."

Lorenzen's NASCAR career spanned 158 races across 17 seasons. He won the 1965 Daytona 500, became the first driver to earn more than $100,000 in a single season in 1963 and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Jan. 30, 2015. He was twice voted the sport's Most Popular Driver.

The diagnosis changed everything for the family.

His children said they noticed behavioral and cognitive changes decades before his death. Amanda said she began seeing differences when she was in middle school. Chris said that by 2006, his father's patience was gone and he could hardly attend Amanda's wedding.

Dr. Thor Stein, who examined Lorenzen's brain at the Boston University CTE Center, told USA Today that Lorenzen's CTE was distinct from the type commonly found in football players. It concentrated in deeper parts of the brain rather than the frontal cortex, which Stein said aligned with the behavioral, mood and motor symptoms Lorenzen developed.

Chris Lorenzen said the diagnosis, while painful, offered some clarity. He told USA Today he felt relief knowing the cause of his father's decline rather than being left without an explanation.

The family had talks with NASCAR this year about partnering on CTE research funding, but that partnership did not come together, USA Today reported. NASCAR did not respond to USA Today's request for comment prior to publication.

The Fred Lorenzen Memorial HelpLine accepts requests through the Concussion & CTE Foundation website and responds within three business days.