Tag Archives: Buddy Baker

Funeral service information has been released for former Sprint Cup Series driver and broadcaster Buddy Baker. Baker passed away on Monday at the age of 74 after a short battle with lung cancer. The funeral will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 2 p.m. ET. at Avondale Presbyterian Church …

Buddy Baker announced late Tuesday evening that he will step away from SiriusXM NASCAR Radio effective immediately. The sad news comes as the former driver continues to battle with lung cancer. Baker, a driver turned broadcaster, has an extensive career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. His 35 years of …

Wylie Baker Jr., better know to racing fans as Buddy, was born January 25, 1941, in Florence, S.C., the son of the late Buck Baker, himself a Hall of Fame NASCAR driver. Buddy began his NASCAR career in 1959 at the age of 17, finishing 14th driving a car for his father at Columbia, S.C. in NASCAR's convertible division. He would win his first race in 1967 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway's National 500, driving the No. 3 Dodge Charger for owner Ray Fox. For Buddy, the accelerator pedal wasn't so much a linear control used to modulate engine power as it was an on/off switch.

Richard Petty and David Pearson arrived at Daytona Beach in February of 1976 with some unsettled business. It was the year of this country's Bicentennial and the fireworks started at Daytona that afternoon, late in the race.

The Grand National Circuit, in the process of becoming Winston Cup, was very different than it had been when the drivers and teams had been there in 1970. The Factory Wars were over: Ford had announced it would not run any factory teams in 1971, and Chrysler was supporting only two cars, Richard Petty in a Plymouth and Buddy Baker in a Petty Enterprises Dodge.