Fred Lorenzen (born December 30, 1934 in Elmhurst, Illinois), is a former NASCAR driver. He first caught the car bug young, and had built his first car at the age of 13. After graduating from high school, he began racing modifieds and late models, and made his NASCAR debut in 1956 at Langhorne Speedway, finishing 26th after suffering a broken fuel pump, winning $25. He moved to USAC stock car, and won the 1958 and 1959 championship. He returned to NASCAR and won 26 races and 32 poles, before announcing his surprise retirement in 1967. From 1961 until 1967 Lorenzen drove the famous White and Blue #28 Ford for Holman and Moody. Under the guidance of legendary team co-owner Ralph Moody, Lorenzen became one of NASCAR's all-time best drivers. The highlight of his career was winning the 1965 Daytona 500. He came back in 1970, although he never ran a full schedule in a Plymouth Superbird owned by L. G. DeWitt. His last start came at the 1972 Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Fred was nicknamed "The Golden Boy" , "Fast Freddie" and "Flyin Freddy".

The Yellow Banana

In his final years he drove a Junior Johnson-owned #26 Ford and it was one of the most talked about vehicles in NASCAR Grand National Competition to this day. The front end of the car was sloped downward, the roofline was lowered, the sidewindows were narrowed and the windshield was lowered in an aerodynamic position and the tail was kicked up. Several rival drivers referred to it as "The Yellow Banana," "Junior's Joke," and "The Magnafluxed Monster." Even though it was against the rules NASCAR allowed the car to compete and Lorenzen crashed while leading the Dixie 500 on the 139th lap. One pit crew member said after the incident "No wonder" he said, "I ain't never seen anybody who could drive a banana at 150 mile an hour."

Awards

• He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001.
• He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.