Known as Fast Freddie and The Golden Boy, Fred Lorenzen was one of NASCAR’s original superstars. Here’s a video account of his winning performance in the 1965 Daytona 500.

More than once, NASCAR hall-of-famer Fred Lorenzen has been called the Jeff Gordon of his generation—or, as we prefer, Gordon could be called the Lorenzen of his time. Originally from Elmhurst, Illinois, Lorenzen learned his craft on the short tracks of the Chicago area, winning the USAC stock car titles in 1958 and 1959 and drawing the attention of Ralph Moody, who recruited him to move down south to drive the Holman Moody house car. With his movie-star looks and smooth, fast manners behind the wheel, he quickly became one of the sport’s first superstars.

Younger race fans might be surprised to learn that just like today, there were fuel-economy strategies back in those days as well, and Fred Lorenzen played his to perfection to win the Daytona 500 in 1965. At the 4:30 mark in this historic film-to-video, Lorenzen explains his plan to Dan Gurney. Installing a numerically lower rear axle ratio, a risky move that relied solely on his skill at drafting to keep pace with the field, Lorenzen out-distanced Marvin Panch and Bobby Johns to score his only Daytona 500 victory. Here’s Bill Fleming of ABC Sports to call the action.