Buddy Baker, the 1980 Daytona 500 victor and former NASCAR commentator, has died after a battle with cancer. Among his victories were the 1970 Southern 500, and the Coca-Cola 600 in 1968, 1972 and 1973.
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Elzie Wylie “Buddy” Baker Jr. was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998, and in 2014 was first nominated for inclusion into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Baker, who grew up in Charlotte and retired from racing in 1992 after a 33-year career, won 19 races in 699 starts on NASCAR’s top circuit. All of the other drivers to accomplish this also won a series championship.
SiriusXM NASCAR Radio announced Baker died this morning.
“Do not shed a tear”. I’m not saying goodbye.
In one of his last interviews two weeks ago with former Charlotte Observer motorsports writer Tom Higgins, Baker said he was “right with The Man Upstairs”. During the 1980 Winston 500 at Talladega, Baker made up 19 seconds on race leader Dale Earnhardt by using an aerodynamic “draft” of every auto ahead of him.
Nicknamed “The Gentle Giant” and the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker, Buddy Baker also was the first drive to surpass 200 miles per hour in a stock auto, achieving the feat in March 1970 at Talladega.
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14th rank in background with 38 rods in his 700 job starts. He had 202 top-fives and 311 top-10s. He then transitioned full-time into the broadcast booth, calling races for both The Nashville Network and CBS and later hosting a number of shows on Sirius XM. “Thanks for being a friend”.
