Hershel McGriff vs Fred Lorenzen: NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Match Up

by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

March 23, 2009 11:24 am UTC 6 Comments

A driver with three different nicknames and one who had three different stints in NASCAR’s top levels face off in a battle between two of greats of the sport in the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Hershel McGriff finished 12th in his final career race – a Camping World West event – at the end of ’01. He was 74. He won four of the last nine races in ’54 to finish sixth in the championship. Those were his only wins in 85 career starts. Named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

Fred Lorenzen, the Golden Boy, Fearless Freddy and the Elmhurst Express won 26 times in 158 starts. He grabbed 32 poles, the ’65 Daytona 500, the ’65 Coca Cola 600 from the pole and five of the seven Martinsville races from ’63 to ’66. Retired in ’67 at age 33 but came back to run from ’70-72.

This is another that seems a mismatch by the numbers. But smart people named both of these guys to the 50 greatest list. Who’s your pick? Leave a comment.

Filed under: Daytona 500, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends