- Buck Baker
Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = Elzie Wylie "Buck" Baker Sr.
Birthdate = birth date|1919|3|4
Died = death date and age|2002|4|14|1919|3|4
Birthplace = flagicon|USA Richburg,South Carolina
Cause of Death = Natural Causes
Best_Cup_Pos = 1st - 1956, 1957 (Grand National)
Cup_Wins = 46
Cup_Top_Tens = 372
Cup_Poles = 45
First_Cup_Race = 1949 untitled race (Charlotte Speedway )
First_Cup_Win = 1952 untitled race (Columbia Speedway )
Last_Cup_Win = 1964Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last_Cup_Race = 1976National 500 (Charlotte)
Achievements = 1952NASCAR Speedway Division champion1956 Grand National Champion
1957 Grand National Champion
Awards = Named one of
NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)Inducted in the
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1998)Years_In_Cup = 26
Total_Cup_Races = 636
spouse =Susan P. Baker Elzie Wylie Baker Sr. better known as Buck Baker (
March 4 ,1919 inRichburg, South Carolina -April 14 ,2002 inCharlotte, North Carolina ) was an Americanracecar driver.Racing career
Baker entered his first race in 1939 in
Greenville, South Carolina , but didn't finish it because one of his tires blew off. Despite his inauspicious start, Baker went on to become one of the greatest drivers inNASCAR 's history. He was the first back-to-back winner of the Grand National (now Sprint Cup) Championship in 1956 and 1957. He was second twice (1955 and 1958) and finished in the top five on four other occasions.Baker's 682 NASCAR starts (44 from the pole) ranks him third all-time and his 46 victories rank him 13th. In 1953, 1960 and 1964, Baker won the
Southern 500 atDarlington Raceway .In 1967 Baker switched to NASCAR's Grand American division, where he was also very successful.
After his retirement in 1976, Baker opened up the
Buck Baker Racing School [http://www.buckbaker.com/] , whereJeff Gordon drove his first stock car. His son,Buddy Baker is a 34-year Winston Cup veteran and now teaches at the school along with Buck's daughter, Susie Baker.Awards
Baker was inducted into the
National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame in 1982, theInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990, and theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1998.In 1998 he was named one of the
NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers .Last years and Death
Buck Baker died on the night of
April 14 ,2002 at Carolinas Medical Center inCharlotte, North Carolina , at the age of 83. The cause of death is unknown. Buck Baker "prostately" died ofnatural causes .His wife Susan P. Baker is the president of the Buck Baker Racing School.
External links
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=bakerbu01 Drivers statistics at racing-reference.info]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
