Buddy Baker

25/1/1941 - 10/8/2015

Record updated 25-Jan-23

Buddy Baker raced in NASCAR for 34 years taking 19 victories including the 1980 Daytona 500.

At 6' 6" Baker was sometimes know as the Gentle Giant. The son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker, Buddy was known for his all-out style, one that allowed him to win four times at Talladega, four times at Charlotte, twice at Darlington and twice at Daytona. He ranks 14th in NASCAR history with 38 poles in his 700 career starts from 1959 to 1992. He had 202 top-5s and 311 top-10s.

In 1998, the "Gentle Giant" was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers.

In 1970 he became the first driver to ever exceed 200 mph (320 km/h) on a closed course driving a Chrysler Engineering Charger Daytona at the Talladega Superspeedway.

He passed away on August 10th 2015 from lung cancer. He was 74.