By alley - Jul 20, 2016, 12:56 PM ET

NASCAR: Hall of Famer Lorenzen to donate brain

Fred Lorenzen, a 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee (pictured at the induction ceremony below) and one of the sport's first superstars, is following modern-day star Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s pledge to donate his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, spurred by his battle with dementia. His decision makes him the second known driver besides Earnhardt to announce his brain donation.

Lorenzen, 81, is the winner of the 1965 Daytona 500 and World 600 and owns the fifth-highest winning percentage (16.86) in NASCAR history, having amassed 26 wins from 1961-67. According to his daughter, Amanda Lorenzen Gardstrom, he has a few moments when he remembers his career, and his "face just lights up" when he visits Chicago Speedway, which is not far from the assisted living facility where he lives. But she told the Associated Press she is convinced Lorenzen has CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) as a result of wrecks and hits during his career.

"The hardest part right now is that his racing memories are starting to go," Gardstrom said. "That was the one thing that was really wonderful, to connect and see him light up when he talked about racing."

Gardstrom was moved by

Earnhardt's decision

, which he announced in March.

"As a family, we decided we wanted to support Dale Junior and all work together toward a healthy future for these drivers," she told AP. "He never stopped to heal."

Earnhardt

will now miss at least three races

, including last weekend at New Hampshire, as he recovers from concussion-like symptoms that surfaced before the July 9 race at Kentucky. In addition to not receiving clearance, Earnhardt stressed he wanted to take his recovery slowly, follow his doctors' advice and "try to learn as much as I can to be smarter and wiser."

Gardstrom echoed those sentiments right before Earnhardt announced he

would miss the New Hampshire race

. Her father first showed signs of dementia about a decade ago, and she told AP that her father and his family want to help NASCAR advance knowledge of concussions and how to treat them.

"It's the younger generation that we really need to educate," she said. "They're young, they're hungry, but when they get in a wreck and get a concussion, they know if they don't get back in the car, someone else is going to take it. We want to change the culture of the sport."

NASCAR introduced mandatory baseline concussion testing in 2014, two years after Earnhardt missed two races as the result of a pair of concussions.

"We don't have to wait until more drivers' brains are studied to make a better concussion protocol," she said. "No money is going to bring my dad back, but what my goal now is, is to make sure the NASCAR family doesn't have to go through the similar things we're going through now."

Earnhardt revealed his plans to donate his brain shortly after he retweeted a link to a story about three former Oakland Raiders players who plan to donate their brains for CTE research in honor of Ken Stabler. Stabler, who played in the NFL through the 1970s and into the mid-1980s, died of cancer last year, and after his death doctors discovered that he had suffered from Stage 3 CTE.

"What use is it [your brain] to you at that point?' Earnhardt tweeted in response to a fan's comment that the ex-Raiders players' decision was a 'big commitment.' "I'm gonna donate mine.'"