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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives have learned that another potential sports
4Hall of Famer is in our midst; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Early NASCAR superstar Fred Lorenzen of Elmhurst
6has an opportunity to join the ranks of the likes of Jordan,
7Sayers, Payton, Ditka, Banks, and Hull; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Fred Lorenzen began his racing exploits behind the
9wheel of a speedster described as a home-built, lawn mower
10engine powered, midget racer, rumbling through the
11neighborhood streets of Elmhurst; and
 
12    WHEREAS, His first racing purse, estimated at $15, came
13with a win in a 1941 Plymouth at a demolition derby at historic
14Soldier Field; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Fred Lorenzen went on to race across the Midwest,
16winning 2 United States Auto Club stock car titles in 1958 and
171959; and
 
18    WHEREAS, He earned the nicknames "Fearless Freddie" and
19"Golden Boy", and caught the eye of the legendary Holman-Moody
20race team and the Ford Motor Company, and began streaking the

 

 

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1straightaways of places like Darlington, Daytona, Atlanta,
2Charlotte, and many other racetracks in his #28 Ford; and
 
3    WHEREAS, His "firsts" included: the first person to win
4$100,000 in a single season and being the only NASCAR driver to
5win 20 races in his first 100 starts; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Fred Lorenzen was twice voted NASCAR's most
7popular driver and in 1998 was named one of NASCAR's 50
8Greatest Drivers; and
 
9    WHEREAS, After a successful racing career, Fred Lorenzen
10returned to Elmhurst to have a successful real estate career,
11raise a family, and serve his community; and
 
12    WHEREAS, NASCAR has opened a Hall of Fame in Charlotte,
13North Carolina, and begun recognizing the sport's stars in the
14classes of 2010, 2011, and 2012, and has now put Fred
15Lorenzen's name on the ballot for the Hall of Fame's Class of
162013; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19we recognize the NASCAR career of Fred Lorenzen and urge the
20NASCAR Hall of Fame voters to induct him into the Class of
212013; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2delivered to the NASCAR Hall of Fame voters and to Fred
3Lorenzen as a symbol of our respect and esteem.