Buddy Baker
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Buddy Baker | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. January 25, 1941 Florence, South Carolina, U.S. |
||||||
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Catawba County, North Carolina, U.S. |
||||||
Achievements | 1980 Daytona 500 Winner 1970 Southern 500 Winner 1968, 1972, 1973 World 600 Winner 1975, 1976, 1980 Winston 500 Winner 1979 Busch Clash Winner |
||||||
Awards | Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee (1995) National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame inductee (1997) Charlotte Motor Speedway Court of Legends inductee (1995) |
||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
700 races run over 33 years | |||||||
Best finish | 5th (1977) | ||||||
First race | 1959 untitled race (Columbia) | ||||||
Last race | 1992 Winston 500 (Talladega) | ||||||
First win | 1967 National 500 (Charlotte) | ||||||
Last win | 1983 Firecracker 400 (Daytona) | ||||||
|
|||||||
NASCAR Grand National East Series career | |||||||
8 races run over 2 years | |||||||
Best finish | 15th (1973) | ||||||
First race | 1972 Sandlapper 200 (Columbia) | ||||||
Last race | 1973 Buddy Shuman 100 (Hickory) | ||||||
First win | 1972 Sandlapper 200 (Columbia) | ||||||
Last win | 1973 Sunoco 260 (Hickory) | ||||||
|
|||||||
Statistics current as of December 18, 2012. |
Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker, Jr. (January 25, 1941 in Florence, South Carolina – August 10, 2015 in Catawba County, North Carolina) was an American NASCAR driver and sports commentator.
Contents
Early life
Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. was born in Florence, South Carolina, the son of two time winner of the NASCAR Championship and a Hall of Fame member Buck Baker and brother of fellow racer Randy Baker.[1] Baker began his NASCAR career in 1959. In 1970, he became the first driver to ever exceed 200 mph (320 km/h) on a closed course. This World Record feat was accomplished in the Chrysler Engineering blue #88 Charger Daytona, which is being restored in Detroit. The same year, with a victory at the Southern 500, he became the first NASCAR driver to win the same race at the same venue as his father. (Buck did it in 1953.)[citation needed]
Career
During his career, Baker won nineteen races including the 1980 Daytona 500, NASCAR's most prestigious race. His victory remains the fastest Daytona 500 ever run, with an average speed of 177.602 mph (285.809 km/h).
Baker is one of nine drivers to have won a Career Grand Slam, by winning the sport's four majors – the Daytona 500, Aaron's 499, Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500.; Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Kevin Harvick are the other eight to have accomplished the feat. He is the only one of the eight to not win the championship.
He generally raced part-time, competing in every race in only three seasons. He owned a car with Danny Schiff from 1985 to 1989, and was instrumental in the career of Jimmy Spencer. He competed in two International Race of Champions series. His final race in NASCAR was in 1992.
Baker helped run the Buck Baker Racing School with his brother for a number of years.
Baker was the first driver to exceed the 200 mph mark on March 24, 1970 on a closed course test run. His speed was clocked at 200.447 miles per hour (322.588 km/h); a record that was broken later that year by Bobby Isaac. It was recently found out that the Isaac car had two four barrel carbs on it, therefore that run was not done in a legal car.
Commentator
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. From 1991 until 2000, he became a television commentator on The Nashville Network and later (1994–2000) races produced by their World Sports Enterprises division, including CBS races. After the 2000 season Baker could still be heard on TNN, calling the American Speed Association races in 2001 and 2002 with Bob Dillner (their final race call was for the 2002 Winchester 400). During 2007, Baker could be heard as the part-time co-host of The Driver's Seat with John Kernan on Sirius Satellite Radio. From 2011 until 2015, he co-hosted Late Shift with Brad Gillie, and Tradin' Paint with Jim Noble on SiriusXM.
Death
Baker resigned effective immediately on July 7, 2015 due to inoperable lung cancer, stating "Do not shed a tear. Give a smile when you say my name".[2] He died on August 10, 2015 at his home in Catawba County, North Carolina.[3][4] In a race (unknown name) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, some of the drivers put "R.I.P Buddy Baker, We Will Miss You" stickers on their cars side to remember the legacy that Buddy Baker had left behind.
Awards
In 1997, Baker joined his father as an inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama. He, previously, had been inducted into the Charlotte Motor Speedway Court of Legends in 1995, and into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1997. He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Grand National Series
Winston Cup Series
Daytona 500 results
Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
1961 | Buck Baker Racing | Chrysler | 28 | 40 |
1962 | 15 | 29 | ||
1964 | David Walker | Plymouth | 42 | 29 |
1965 | Buck Baker Racing | Dodge | 18 | 40 |
1966 | Chevrolet | 36 | 32 | |
1967 | Fox Racing | Dodge | 9 | 28 |
1968 | 13 | 30 | ||
1969 | 1 | 5 | ||
1970 | Owens Racing | Dodge | 2 | 27 |
1971 | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 6 | 2 |
1972 | 31 | 34 | ||
1973 | K&K Insurance Racing | Dodge | 1 | 6 |
1975 | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 13 | 20 |
1976 | 5 | 33 | ||
1977 | 8 | 3 | ||
1978 | M.C. Anderson Racing | Oldsmobile | 31 | 7 |
1979 | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Oldsmobile | 1 | 40 |
1980 | 1 | 1 | ||
1981 | Ellington Racing | Oldsmobile | 6 | 4 |
1982 | Buick | 4 | 8 | |
1983 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 5 | 3 |
1984 | 5 | 38 | ||
1985 | Baker-Schiff Racing | Oldsmobile | 7 | 4 |
1986 | 17 | 26 | ||
1987 | 7 | 4 | ||
1988 | 18 | 9 | ||
1991 | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | 16 | 37 |
1992 | Close Racing | Oldsmobile | 24 | 11 |
1994 | Moroso Racing | Ford | DNQ |
International Race of Champions
(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
International Race of Champions results | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Make | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pos. | Pts | Ref |
1976–77 | Chevy | MCH 1 |
RSD 6 |
RSD 8 |
DAY 8 |
5th | NA | [40] | |||
1979–80 | Chevy | MCH 4 |
MCH | RSD | RSD 8 |
ATL 9 |
10th | 14 | [41] |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Official website
- Buddy Baker at the Internet Movie Database
- The Inside Groove.com – Historical Nascar Image Gallery
- Driver stats at racing-reference.info
- Actual footage of Buddy Baker setting the 200 mph world record in the #88 Chrysler Engineering Charger Daytona
- Profile, aerowarriors.com
Achievements | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Daytona 500 Winner 1980 |
Succeeded by Richard Petty |
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Articles with unsourced statements from August 2015
- 1941 births
- 2015 deaths
- 20th-century American racing drivers
- American television sports announcers
- Deaths from lung cancer
- Cancer deaths in North Carolina
- International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
- International Race of Champions drivers
- Motorsport announcers
- Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductees
- NASCAR drivers
- NASCAR team owners
- People from Florence, South Carolina
- Racing drivers from South Carolina