Legend Profile: Buck Baker

Buck Baker won 46 NASCAR Cup Series races during a career that ran from 1949 to 1976. His greatest success came at legendary Darlington Raceway, where he won the Southern 500 three times. Baker also earned NASCAR titles in 1956 and 1957.

BY BEN WHITE

during the Great Depression near Chester, South Carolina. His parents farmed but the youngster wanted more out of life.

As a teenager, he spent time hauling moonshine from South Carolina to Atlanta while trying his hand at boxing and playing amateur golf. A few years later, he began driving a city bus in Charlotte, North Carolina, before settling on a career as a stock car driver in NASCAR. When he wasn’t racing, Baker spent time making money any way he could.

Baker entered his first NASCAR race on June 19, 1949, at Charlotte Speedway, a half-mile dirt track. He had found his calling, finishing 11th in the 33-car field. His first NASCAR victory came on April 12, 1952, when he beat Lee Petty to the checkered flag in a 100-mile dirttrack race at Columbia Speedway in South Carolina.

During his NASCAR Cup Series career, Baker logged 45 additional victories and 45 pole positions, as well as 372 top-10 finishes. In 1956 and 1957, he became the first driver to win consecutive championships in NASCAR’s premier series.

From 1957 to 1959, Baker made 20 starts in NASCAR’s convertible division. He also raced in the NASCAR Grand National East Series during the early 1970s.

Baker passed away on April 14, 2002, at the age of 83. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Feb. 8, 2013.

–BUCK BAKER

BEST SEASON

Baker won 14 of the 46 races he entered and claimed the series championship over second-place Herb Thomas. Baker’s stats that season included 31 top-five finishes, 39 top-10 results and 12 pole positions in a Chrysler 300 owned by businessman Carl Kiekhaefer.

RECORD SETTER

Baker entered 635 NASCAR Cup Series races. His average start was 10.9 and his average finish was 11.4. He is 14th on the list of all-time winners with 46 victories in NASCAR’s premier stock car division.

KNOWN FOR

earned him the distinction of being one of the NASCAR’s greatest drivers. He was quick to adapt to a number of race tracks, giving him a reputation for winning. In 1976, he began the Buck Baker Driving School at Rockingham Speedway.