Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr., better known to racing fans as Buddy Baker, died this week at age 74, taken down by lung cancer.
Baker was one of NASCAR’s early superstars, scoring dramatic victories on NASCAR fastest tracks, including the 1980 Daytona 500. His average speed in that race, 177 mph, is a record that still stands.
A brawny giant of a man, he later became known to a new generation of fans through his work as an on-air analyst during race broadcasts on what was then the Nashville Network, and until recently on Sirius XM radio. It was during this period that we met Baker, the one and only time our paths crossed, when we were each in the press corps for a NASCAR race.
From that meeting we came to realize that Baker, while from humble beginnings and immersed in the rough-and-tumble world of stock car racing, could be described accurately using just these few words: A true gentleman.
Image selected from U.S. Army via Creative Commons.