NASCAR legend Red Farmer, 90, itching to get back on the track as he battles double pneumonia

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NASCAR legend Red Farmer is hoping to shift into fifth gear and speed out of an Alabama hospital as he recovers from double pneumonia.

The 90-year-old NASCAR Hall of Famer told WVTM-TV he has been at UAB Hospital for over a week and was itching to get out to prepare for the Ice Bowl at Talladega Superspeedway in January. It would be his 75th Ice Bowl if he can get to it.

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Red Farmer speaks during the induction ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Jan. 21, 2022, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

"I've been at UAB Hospital for over a week battling double pneumonia," he told the station on Monday. "I beat COVID-19 and double pneumonia a few months ago. I don't have COVID this time around, but the pneumonia got me again."

Farmer was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2021. He started driving in 1948 before official records of his wins were kept. According to his bio, he’s thought to have won 700 races over the course of his career. He thrived in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman division, winning three consecutive championships from 1969-1971. He also won a modified division championship in 1956.

Red Farmer poses for a portrait during the NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Jan. 21, 2022, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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He was a member of the famous Alabama Gang in racing. It was a nickname for a group of drivers who worked out of Hueytown, Alabama, in the late 1950s. Legendary racer Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison and Farmer were initially a part of the group before other Hueytown residents joined later.

Farmer’s last NASCAR Cup race came in 1975 at Talladega and his final NASCAR Xfinity Series race came in 1992. He never won in either event.

He was named one of the 50 greatest drivers in NASCAR history and was a passenger in the helicopter crash at Talladega in 1993 that left Davey Allison dead.

Red Farmer, driver of the #97 during the Gillette Young Guns Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway on Sept. 9, 2009, in Rossburg, Ohio. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images for True Speed Communication)

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"Racing is what drives me," Farmer told the station. "I’ll see you at the track."