Best Racecar Drivers From Illinois

The first internal combustion engine was created in 1863 by a Belgian inventor named Etienne Lenoir. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that automobile racing began not long after. In 1895, the first true automobile race was held, traveling from Paris to Bordeaux and back. The winner averaged 15 mph over the 732-mile route.

In the United States, the first automobile race was held on Thanksgiving Day, also in 1895. Contestants raced from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois, and back for a distance of 54 miles. Both races were promotional efforts by newspapers as the automobile industry had yet to catch on to racing cars’ advertising opportunity.

It’s fair to say racing has come a long way since then, and Illinois has remained at the heart of it all. Before the 2022 season, there have been 69 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series from the Prairie State. In 1,229 starts, these Illinois drivers took home 28 victories, finishing in the top five 126 times and the top ten 228 times. To honor the rich Illinois racing history, we’ll take a look at the best race car drivers to come from this great state.

Fred Lorenzen

“⚡2014 LMR1” licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0 via Flickr by Elena Regina

You can’t talk about Illinois racing without mentioning Fred Lorenzen. He raced from 1956 to 1967 when he retired. Then, in 1970, he came out of retirement and raced for two more years before calling it quits for good. He was only 38 years old.

He began racing modifieds and late-models after graduating high school with great success. He won the National Gas Eliminators drag-racing event at age 18 before moving to stock cars and took home the United States Auto Club Championship in 1958 and 1959. But it wasn’t until 1960 that he received his first big break when he signed on to race for Holman-Moody in the NASCAR Grand National Division.

In his rookie season, he bested racing icon Curtis Turner, passing him in the last lap of the Rebel 300 at Darlington Raceway for the win. His turn-two fake high, dive-low move to pass Turner earned him the moniker “Fearless Freddie.”

Unfortunately, Lorenzen never raced full-time after his rookie campaign. Otherwise, he might have won many more races. Even racing in 16 of the 62 events in 1964, Lorenzen managed to win eight of them. He still finished in the top 13 in four different seasons in his part-time racing career.

Lorenzen never wanted to race full-time despite his talent, and Holman-Moody didn’t mind. They paid him to race in the big events and win because they knew those races gave them the best publicity and sold cars.

Perhaps his most memorable race was one he crashed in when he drove the notorious Yellow Banana car. It was called the Yellow Banana because of its unorthodox shape and yellow color. Lorenzen crashed on lap 139 while in the lead, and one of his crew famously commented, “No wonder, I ain’t never seen anybody who could drive a banana at 150 miles an hour.”

Lorenzen was born in Elmhurst in 1934, just outside of Chicago. Elmhurst was the former home of the Keebler Company and remains the home of Famous Amos’ distribution center, making Elmhurst the defacto cookie capital.

Lorenzen’s passion for racing began at an early age when he began building go-karts. At age 12, Lorenzen raced his go-kart through the town, chased by the police. He outran them, but Elmhurst Police knew where to find him. Later that day, they confiscated his go-kart at his home, but that didn’t stop Lorenzen from racing.

Lorenzen was the consummate professional and had the respect and admiration of his peers. He was also NASCAR’s first golden boy. His dashing good looks and his charisma had fans fawning over him. To his credit, he never turned down a request for an autograph.

Tom Pistone

“Tiger” Tom Pistone was born in Chicago in 1929. His successful career began at Soldiers Field, where he won three championships in a row from 1951-1953 and still holds the record for wins there with 38. Over his 11-year career, he raced in 130 NASCAR Cup races. Over that span, he earned five pole positions, two wins, 29 top-fives, and 53 top-ten finishes.

Tiger continues to stay involved in racing and owns a thriving business building race cars and selling racing parts. He’s also actively involved in his own charitable foundation called the Legends of Stock Car Racing. The charity helps former drivers and crew members who have fallen on hard times.

After retiring, Tom Pistone moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he stays active. When Pistone isn’t at work or helping former racing professionals, you can find him mentoring young drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Danica Patrick

A list of the best race car drivers from Illinois wouldn’t be complete without Danica Patrick. She was born in 1982 and raised in Roscoe, Illinois. Her racing career began in the early 1990s, where she dominated the World Karting Association’s Grand National Championship. She became the most successful woman in American open-wheel car racing. In 2008, she became the first and only woman to win an Indy Car Series race, finishing first at the Indy Japan 300.

In 2010, Patrick switched to stock cars and raced in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, now known as the Xfinity Series. Danica was the second woman to capture the pole position in the Nationwide Series. Next, Patrick switched to the Sprint Cup, now known as the NASCAR Cup, where she became the first woman to win the pole position at the Indy 500, where she finished eighth.

As one of the pioneering women in a predominantly male sport, Danica made headlines with her success on the track. As a result, she capitalized on the endorsement opportunities. However, she gave her time and money to many charitable organizations over the years and continues to stay involved.

She helped campaign for No Kid Hungry, which supports underprivileged families by providing food for their children. As the celebrity spokesperson for DRIVE4COPD, Patrick helps shed light on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition that took her grandmother.

Illinois has a rich history in automobile racing, and VW of Marion proudly supports the racing community. We hope you enjoyed our list of Illinois’ best race car drivers. However, we know Illinois has produced many more drivers than we can mention here, such as Ted Musgrave, Bobby Wawak, and Justin Allgaier. We’ll do our best to update our list, so please let us know if you feel we missed one of your favorite drivers.