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Tag: Wendell Scott

  • Will the Domino’s fall right for Bubba?

    Will the Domino’s fall right for Bubba?

    Given the current landscape of sports in the United States, there are two questions that remain unanswered. One, will there be an NFL team that finally signs Colin Kaepernick? And two, will there be a NASCAR team that finally gives Bubba Wallace a chance to be a regular in the Monster Series? The Kaepernick issue is one that has many layers to it but with regards to Wallace, there just might be a light at the end of the tunnel.

    Earlier this season, Wallace made his Monster Energy debut when he filled in for the injured Aric Almirola driving the No. 43 car for Richard Petty Motorsports. Wallace took advantage of the opportunity and certainly made an impression on RPM.

    “We had him sub for our injured driver this year and he showed remarkable upside and improved every single race,” said RPM Co-Owner Andrew Murstein. “He went from 25th to 20th to 16th to 11th. For a driver to jump into a car and perform that well with no experience working with the team and crew chief is unheard of.”

    Wallace became the first African-American driver at the highest level of NASCAR since Bill Lester in 2006, but he is looking for a new team after getting released by Roush Fenway Racing because of a lack of funding. Since then, he’s maintained a spot in the XFINITY Series driving the RPM affiliated No. 98 car but his status for 2018 is currently up in the air for a number of reasons.

    While Kaepernick’s controversial decision to take a knee during the national anthem last year is a big reason why he’s not currently employed by an NFL team, the fact that Wallace doesn’t have a regular role in the Monster Energy Series might be a bit more baffling. Wallace is a potential game changer and an emerging star. At only 23-years-old, Wallace has had some success at other levels of NASCAR so perhaps the time is right for someone to take a chance on him.

    “Just as Colin Kaepernick hasn’t been hired by an NFL team, I am surprised that no one in NASCAR has given Bubba Wallace a full-time ride at the Cup level yet,” said Murstein. “He is clearly talented enough, and has certainly put his time in having raced and excelled in the XFINITY and Truck Series for many years.”

    Wallace broke a barrier in 2013 when he became the first African-American driver since Wendell Scott to win a race in one of NASCAR’s three national series.

    Wallace is also big on social media and that just might land him a big opportunity for the 2018 season. He could go back to the Roush Fenway Racing team or perhaps join a NASCAR powerhouse like Joe Gibbs Racing or Hendrick Motorsports.

    But the situation that might turn out to be the perfect storm for Wallace could be RPM who recently announced that Almirola will not return to the team next season. RPM gained some momentum recently by signing Grunt Style to a multiyear sponsorship agreement but they are still looking for a primary sponsor.

    However, before Wallace and RPM can join forces, a top sponsor must be secured and there’s an intriguing situation that has been playing out on social media. Wallace is a huge fan of Domino’s Pizza and saw an opportunity to engage them recently on Twitter. On September 28, Domino’s sent out a tweet regarding National Poetry Day and Wallace couldn’t resist responding.

    From there, Wallace filmed a video with Domino’s-themed shots on a golf course and posted it along with a special message that appears to have caught the eye of the pizza giant.

    NASCAR fans might recall that after Wallace won a Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan, he ate a Domino’s pie during a live stream on Periscope. Sounds like Wallace, Domino’s and RPM could very well be the ingredients for a delicious partnership!

    “I just watched (Bubba’s) Domino’s Pizza video and thought it was terrific,” said Murstein. “I would love to sign him in the near future and only can hope that no one does it before we do. It’s only a matter of time until a sponsor decides to go with him as it would be truly great for their brand, their image, NASCAR, and all of sports for that matter.”

    The sports world could always use a new hero and perhaps Bubba Wallace could be the right man for the job in terms of giving fans a new star to cheer for as well as someone ready to break another barrier in the NASCAR world.

    “Any sponsor that signs on to a potential Wallace/RPM partnership would be part of something special at a time when the sports world really needs it, especially with all that has gone on recently,” said Murstein. “Plus, NASCAR fans are unbelievably loyal to their drivers and sponsors and I am sure it would be a boost in sales for whoever is lucky enough to sponsor him.”

    It seems like a perfect fit.

    You have an up and coming star in Bubba Wallace looking for a NASCAR team to take a chance on him. You have a legendary name, mentor, and brand in Richard Petty Motorsports looking for a driver and a major sponsor.

    The time is right for Bubba Wallace to make history and be a regular in the Monster Energy Series and it’s rare to have such a special opportunity to share in a landmark partnership that can be so much more than just a sports story. It’s history in the making.

     

  • Hot 20 – Motor Car Racing’s biggest day after one of NASCAR’s most newsworthy weeks

    Hot 20 – Motor Car Racing’s biggest day after one of NASCAR’s most newsworthy weeks

    Change. Sometimes change is good, like when you win a few million dollars. That is good. You get married to your sweetheart. Good. Your children start arriving. If you are a mature adult, and not some self-serving narcissist, that is very good. New talented drivers emerge on the scene. That is also a good thing.

    Some change sucks. Your favorite driver retiring, for example, if only for very selfish reasons. Trying to dump the Southern 500 was a bad thing. Abandoning such traditional names as the Firecracker 400 and the World 600 is not only bad but makes you appear dumb as a stick. About as dumb as adding a third stage for points in a 600-mile race, allowing the possibility of the driver finishing 26th to wind up with more points than the race winner. That is bad, also.

    As for changes in the 2018 schedule, good or bad? That is the question. Moving the Brickyard 400 to September? Iconic track, bad venue for NASCAR in my opinion. It does not much matter. Move Richmond from the final race of the regular campaign to the second of the Chase? It might work. Small market, short track, tons of tradition. Maybe.

    Changing the fall race in Charlotte to include its road course section? The World 600 is iconic. The fall race is not. Anything that includes another road course is good, but we will not know for sure until we see it. Will we be entertained? The fact that it is a Chase race ticks a box, and if it continues to be a 500-mile contest it would be by far the longest road course endurance test on the circuit.

    They thought about changing to the road course at Indianapolis. Those in charge of the iconic venue said no. Indy was all about the oval, in their opinion, period. I guess they decided not to cry over spilled milk and moved on.

    The Hall of Fame might need to change. Each year, they elect five more to be enshrined. Once, you needed a championship or 40 plus wins to get in. Now, no title and under 20 victories might still be enough. Mind you, Wendell Scott won just one race but his NASCAR journey was a lot like Andy Dufresne’s trek out of Shawshank. He deserves to be there. Dale Earnhardt Jr., on the other hand, once was a long-shot but today he is an automatic thanks to Curtis Turner’s induction in 2016. Is a change required? You be the judge.

    This week, the new inductees were announced. For a change, I can not argue with any of them. Engine builder and team owner Robert Yates. Inaugural NASCAR champ Red Byron. Championship crew chief and team owner Ray Evernham. Broadcast icon Ken Squier. Truck king Ron Hornaday. Next year, maybe mechanic, builder and crew chief Smokey Yunick might be included. He may not have kissed many rings and certainly no one’s ass, but he more than earned his spot. A softening of their attitude regarding him would be a most welcome change.

    Of course, for a change, this Sunday it is about more than just NASCAR. The Formula One offering starts the day with the Grand Prix of Monaco. Back on this side of the pond, the open wheelers are featured in the Indianapolis 500. Down south, the World 600 comes our way from Charlotte, North Carolina.

    Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton lead the way in F-1’s sixth race of the season. IndyCar finds Simon Pagenaud and Scott Dixon the top dogs. As for NASCAR, here is a look at our Hot 20 heading to Charlotte. In the words of Jackie Stewart, let the motor car racing begin.

    1. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 2 WINS – 431 PTS
    When it comes to who should win this race this year, Truex is a “no change” kind of guy.

    2. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2 WINS – 408 PTS
    A rule is not “made up” if you failed to read the fine print. Sticker tires are 100% unused.

    3. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2 WINS – 323 PTS
    NASCAR makes up new rules, Johnson keeps winning championships. Expect more rules.

    4. KYLE LARSON – 1 WIN – 475 PTS
    Thinks All-Star race and season finale should move to different venues. He is wrong, of course.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN – 320 PTS
    Joey and Danica will be in the lineup. Aric Almirola is gone for two or three months.

    6. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 1 WIN – 276 PTS
    You would think a boy from Olive Branch, Mississippi would be the most peaceful guy out there.

    7. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN – 246 PTS
    Well, all day long at the track all I hear is how great Kyle is at this or that! Kyle, Kyle, Kyle!

    8. RYAN NEWMAN – 1 WIN – 238 PTS
    Rocket Man? Amongst our race winners, it is more like he is the Invisible Man.

    9. CHASE ELLIOTT – 361 PTS
    After the fan vote last week, Chase is the new Danica. Okay, a more manly version.

    10. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 354 PTS
    Has won twice at Charlotte, but never this classic event.

    11. KEVIN HARVICK – 347 PTS
    Believes Truck Series should be run at non-Cup tracks, to bring out the fans. Harvick is right.

    12. KYLE BUSCH – 325 PTS
    Last week it was for money, this week it is for points.

    13. CLINT BOWYER – 317 PTS
    If it is not a rule, then Crew Chief Mike Bugarewicz gets in touch with his inner Smokey Yunick.

    14. RYAN BLANEY – 291 PTS
    His dad did not get his shot until he was in his late 30’s. Ryan knows that he is a fortunate son.

    15. DENNY HAMLIN – 289 PTS
    29 career wins, but not one yet at Charlotte. There is always Sunday.

    16. TREVOR BAYNE – 250 PTS
    Failed to join his fellow stars in Saturday’s big race. He has incentive to do well this weekend.

    17. KASEY KAHNE – 242 PTS
    Last week he won $1000 in a World of Outlaws race. So, they release prize money figures?

    18. MATT KENSETH – 233 PTS
    At least seven in the line-up for Sunday will wind up in the Hall of Fame. Matt is one of them.

    19. ERIK JONES – 217 PTS
    Stay off the grass.

    20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 217 PTS
    Was last week his coming out party?

  • NASCAR Statement on the Passing of Mary Scott

    NASCAR Statement on the Passing of Mary Scott

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2015) –

    “NASCAR extends its thoughts and condolences to the many family members and friends of Mary Scott, widow of Wendell Scott and matriarch of the Scott family.

    “Loved by all, she was a friendly and welcoming presence in the garage during her husband’s competitive days in NASCAR. Her love and support provided Wendell a foundation for his many years of racing excellence, and helped guide his legend to NASCAR’s pinnacle – the NASCAR Hall of Fame.”

  • Finley Factor: Putting A Muzzle On The Dog

    Finley Factor: Putting A Muzzle On The Dog

    The lottery is really just a volunteer tax. Every week thousands upon thousands of people attempt to win it, in spite of the one in million(s) odds. Every week, these same thousands upon thousands of people don’t win the big money and decide to try again next week.

    NASCAR’s version of the lottery? The free lap rule.

    It’s a fairly easy rule to explain – like the lottery – to explain to those playing. If a caution comes out and a driver is the first a lap or more down (and they did not cause said caution), they become the “lucky dog” and gain a free lap.

    Like the lottery, most “lucky dogs” win it by pure luck with no actual indicator of skill. They are simply lapped right before the caution comes out and if it had been even another lap, the leader would have lapped yet another driver. And if there are multiple cautions in a single period, congratulations, everybody gets their lap back!

    The reality is that no driver has won a race after winning the free pass in five years now. Kevin Harvick was the last to do so, at Daytona in 2010, and only eight times in the 12-year history of the rule has a driver won after being the “lucky dog”.

    If anything, the only factor the free pass rule has on most races is that lapped cars now have extra incentive to “race” each other. This is a code word for “ignore other cars and just get in the way of lead lap cars.”

    Other than that, it has no real effect on racing and only serves to make racing sound better in PR statements – “We’ve had X amount of cars finish on the lead lap this year, we’re at the most competitive point in racing history”- and overall is just a waste of time.

    Like the lottery.

     

    Sonoma Raceway Preview:

    Favorite

    Jeff Gordon has to be the favorite this week. Even though he has not won at Sonoma in the past five years, he has an incredible 3.8 average finish over that same period, making Sonoma his best track on the Cup schedule.

    Sleeper

    Jimmie Johnson only has a single win at a road course but it came here, and like Gordon, he is riding a streak of five top-10s in the last five years here.

    One to Watch

    I’m interested to see how Kevin Harvick does this week. This is a good track for him, but he only finished 20th here last year. Now that this team has some experience together, they should definitely improve on that.

     

    I’m getting tired of writing about Danica Patrick, especially because I feel she is performing decently this year, but here we go again.

    I would like to provide a rebuttal to an article posted on motorsport.com, in particular, one written by news manager Steven Cole Smith about Danica Patrick possibly being a future Hall of Famer.

    Overall I feel Mr. Smith didn’t exactly provide a good argument, as there are plenty of holes in his article that should be pointed out. The Orlando Sentential has already looked at one of them, I’m going to do the rest of the hard work.

    “And while she may not yet have compiled sheer statistics that would send her to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the fact that she has been the first female driver to prove that a woman – particularly a woman that isn’t built like a roller derby jammer – can survive season after season in what has always been, and still is, a man’s sport.”

    Granted she has finished no higher than 27th in practically Hendrick equipment the last two seasons, but hey, it isn’t like her boss is doing a lot better this year.

    “All that said, yes, Patrick doesn’t have a win, but look at her stats this season: As we approach the halfway mark, she is 19th in points, ahead of Greg Biffle (20th), Sam Hornish Jr. (25th), her car owner, Tony Stewart (26th), and her boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (28th).

    That shows competence. And for a slot in the Hall of Fame, I contend that’s plenty for a pioneer. I’m not remotely saying that her situation mirrors the struggle that Hall of Famer Wendell Scott faced as the first black driver to make a living in NASCAR, but there are similarities.

    But Scott’s first real season with NASCAR in 1961 when he competed in 23 of 52 races that year, winning $3,240, came a stunning 52 years before a woman ran a full season, when Patrick did in 2013.”

    Competence should never be the skill level of a driver in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The reality is that Wendell Scott was a good driver; he didn’t have the hard stats (i.e. wins) to prove it, but you have to remember his situation. He was running cars out of his backyard and had his children as his primary crew working on them.

    Just the fact that he was able to make it to the racetrack was remarkable, never mind his three top-10 points finishes and an average finish of 15th throughout his career.

    Granted, those results were a little inflated due to smaller fields and fewer drivers running full time versus today, but Scott still had 147 top-10 finishes in 495 starts, roughly a top-10 every 3.3 races.

    Scott was a very consistent driver, similar in many ways to other “strokers” in Cup at the time, including James Hylton and Richard Childress. Nobody had the money the big teams had; they only raced out of pure love for the sport.

    Meanwhile, Patrick, save for a fuel mileage win in IndyCar at Motegi, hasn’t won a professional race in 10 years of trying. And for at least the past 10 years, from Motorola to GoDaddy to whatever will be on the No. 10 next season, she has always had big money sponsors.

    In seven years in IndyCar, she had an average finish of 10.6 in usually a 20 or so car field, only seven podiums, and a pathetic 124 laps led.

    The fact is that she has been a journeyman driver, and as I’ve said, I think her peak is ultimately going to be at the Paul Menard level, she is an incredibly average driver that will contend for a spot in the Chase but probably won’t get it.

    “Add to that the attention Patrick brought, and is still bringing, to stock car racing. She arguably brought along her IndyCar fans, as well as female fans who identified more with her than, say, Jimmy Spencer.”

    How long did these IndyCar fans stay? Apparently not very long since ratings were down in 2014 after being slightly up in 2013, her rookie year. And even then, with the introduction of the Gen 6 and a few other things, the rating increase in 2013 may not have been only because of Patrick.

    Not to mention – what IndyCar fans? NASCAR has been heads and shoulders above IndyCar when it comes to the pure number of fans for many years. IndyCar has been stuck on Versus/NBCSN for years and the only reason NASCAR is going on that network to begin with is to build said network up to someday compete with ESPN. And, of course, I’d cite attendance numbers, but NASCAR doesn’t publically give them out anymore. mainly because of how embarrassing the numbers are, nd are actively tearing down grandstands to reduce seating capacity.

    None of this is Patrick’s fault of course, but she definitely brought in either no fans, a miniscule amount of fans long term, or the people she brings in are being outpaced by the people not caring about racing anymore, which is pretty frightening if true.

    As far as female fans…. There has always been roughly a 30-40 percent female audience for NASCAR since the 90’s. I’m not going to argue that there are women who became a fan of Patrick when she made the switch, but that doesn’t make a huge difference when the overall number of fans is going down.

    “And speaking of IndyCar, no migrant to NASCAR has been able to duplicate the success of Tony Stewart, including Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Indy 500 winner Hornish, who is still struggling to establish himself. Patrick has.”

    Hold up, hold up. Granted Montoya didn’t “duplicate the success of Tony Stewart,” but he still won races and made the Chase in 2009. Somehow he isn’t as successful as Patrick, who did “duplicate the success of Tony Stewart.” By this point in his Cup career (97 starts), Stewart had 10 wins and 33 top-fives, with a highest points finish of fourth and was in the middle of a season where he’d be the runner up for the championship. Patrick has no wins, no top fives, has a highest points finish of 27th and is on track to finish the current season in the high teens in points. Granted this is a very unfair comparison but I’m not the one making it, I’m just adding numbers to said comparison.

    “Is there anyone who can say Danica Patrick hasn’t been very, very good for racing in general, NASCAR in particular?”

    Ford has been very, very good for racing in general but I don’t think we’ll be seeing anybody from the Ford family inducted into the Hall of Fame anytime soon.

    “Based on what she has done up to now, Danica Patrick is Hall of Fame material. But she’s young (33) and still has time to wow us, possibly by doing the Memorial Day double – the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.”

    To begin with, doing the double is nice but I don’t see Robby Gordon getting the nod to go into the Hall of Fame, and both Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart will go in for their overall body of work.

    If I were judging today’s drivers based off of Hall of Fame merit, only 8 full time drivers come to mind as being Hall of Famers as of right now. These drivers are:

    Jeff Gordon

    Jimmie Johnson

    Tony Stewart

    Matt Kenseth

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Kevin Harvick

    Kurt Busch

    Kyle Busch (Remember it’s a NASCAR Hall of Fame, not just Cup merits matter).

    Bobby Labonte (Not full time but should be mentioned as he will be going in with his brother whenever he decides to hang up the fire suit for good).

    After that there are a few borderline candidates, such as Brad Keselowski or Carl Edwards. But the reality is that it’s unfair to judge all but these select few, because their careers are in progress.

    Who really knows what could happen from here on out. Patrick could go win five races and win the championship this year. But you can’t judge careers now, and even if you want to, Danica doesn’t come close in my opinion.

    But don’t just take my word for it. Read both mine and Smith’s articles and come to your own conclusion on the matter. My own conclusion is that Danica should not be put into the Hall of Fame simply for having something no woman before her has ever had in NASCAR… money.

    All stats cited in the Finley Factor are as per Racing Reference unless otherwise noted.

  • 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Honors Five Iconic Wheelmen

    2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Honors Five Iconic Wheelmen

    Elliott, Lorenzen, Scott, Weatherly, White Officially Enshrined

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 30, 2015) – Five legendary drivers with distinct styles and contributions to NASCAR were enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina tonight during the Induction Ceremony held in the Crown Ball Room at the Charlotte Convention Center.

    Those who added their names to the list of now 30 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees, included: Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Wendell Scott, Joe Weatherly and Rex White.

    The group makes up the Hall’s sixth class in its history.

    Bill Elliott – a fan-favorite with a record 16 NASCAR Most Popular Driver Awards – compiled numerous accolades that put him near the top of many all-time NASCAR lists. In his 37-year driving career, “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” notched 44 wins (16th in NASCAR history) and 55 poles (eighth), but his most prestigious accomplishment came when he won the 1988 premier series championship. Elliott always performed on the biggest of stages, winning the Daytona 500 twice and the Southern 500 three times.

    “One thing I look at out here today is one common bond with all these racers, it’s the hard work and the dedication all these guys had,” Elliott said. “I mean, for me to stand up here among the guys that have already been here, it’s just totally incredible.”

    Fred Lorenzen – one of the first “outsiders” to capture the fancy of NASCAR’s early southeastern crowds – was one of the sport’s first true superstars, even though he never ran more than 29 of the season’s 50-plus races. The Elmhurst, Illinois, native won 26 races from 1961-67, with his best overall season coming in 1963 as he finished with six wins, 21 top fives and 23 top 10s in 29 starts. The victor of the 1965 Daytona 500 and World 600, Lorenzen boasts the fifth-highest career winning percentage (16.86) in NASCAR history.

    “Dad always said, ‘The sky is the limit and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,’” said Lorenzen’s son, Chris, who spoke on his behalf. “That has been dad’s most important saying in life, and he certainly lived by it. He also believed people made their own luck and that luck just doesn’t fall upon people.”

    A true trailblazer, Wendell Scott was the first African-American to race fulltime in NASCAR’s premier series, as well as the first to win a NASCAR premier series race. Scott posted 147 top 10s in 495 starts, as well as finished four seasons in the top 10 of the championship points standings. He won more than 100 races at local tracks before making his premier series debut, including 22 races at Southside Speedway in Richmond, Virginia, in 1959 en route to capturing both the Sportsman Division and NASCAR Virginia Sportsman championships.

    “The legacy of Wendell Scott depicts him as one the great vanguards of the sport of NASCAR racing,” said the late Scott’s son, Franklin, who accepted the induction on his behalf. “Daddy was a man of great honor. He didn’t let his circumstances define who he was.”

    Joe Weatherly claimed consecutive premier series championships in 1962-63 and won 25 career races before his untimely death in January 1964 at Riverside (Calif.) Raceway. Known as the “Clown Prince of Racing” due to his jovial personality, Weatherly displayed impressive versatility beyond his premier series dominance. A decade earlier in 1952-53, he won 101 races in the NASCAR Modified division, capturing that championship in 1953. He even tried his hand in NASCAR’s short-lived Convertible Division from 1956-59, winning 12 times.

    “He loved his family and he was very generous, but I am sure there are many memories the fans could share as well, maybe ones of the practical jokes he enjoyed playing on fellow drivers,” said Joy Barbee, Weatherly’s niece. “He definitely had a sense of humor, he loved a good laugh and he loved to have a good time. He always had a big smile on his face; he was a character to be around and definitely lived up to the title given to him – the ‘Clown Prince of Racing.’”

    One of the greatest short-track racers ever, consistency was the hallmark of Rex White’s NASCAR career. He finished among the top five in nearly half of his 233 races and outside the top 10 only 30 percent of the time. Of his 28 career wins in NASCAR’s premier series, only two came on tracks longer than a mile in length. Driving his own equipment, White won six times during his 1960 championship season, posting 35 top 10s in 40 starts. He finished in the top 10 six of his nine years in the series, including a runner-up finish in 1961.

    “Words can’t express how honored I am to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame along with the other Hall of Fame members, especially my 2015 fellow inductees,” White said. “No driver wins a championship by himself and nobody enters the Hall of Fame alone. I am the symbol of a team effort.”

    Each of the five inductees had an inductor who officially welcomed them into the hall. The inductors for the five inductees: Ray Evernham for Bill Elliott; Amanda Gardstrom (daughter) for Fred Lorenzen; Wendell Scott Jr. for Wendell Scott; Bud Moore for Joe Weatherly; and James Hylton for Rex White.

    Active drivers introduced each inductee during tonight’s program: Kasey Kahne for Bill Elliott; Tony Stewart for Fred Lorenzen; Jeff Gordon for Wendell Scott; Brad Keselowski for Joe Weatherly; and Kevin Harvick for Rex White.

    In addition to the five inductees enshrined on Friday night, Anne B. France was awarded the inaugural Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR.

    France, paired with her husband, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., created what today is one of the largest and most popular sports in the world. Anne played a huge role in the family business. “Big Bill” organized and promoted races; she took care of the financial end of the business. She first served as secretary and treasurer of NASCAR, and when Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, served in the same roles for the International Speedway Corporation. She also managed the speedway’s ticket office. France remained active in family and business life until her passing in 1992.

    Prior to tonight’s Induction Ceremony, long-time Charlotte Observer reporter Tom Higgins was awarded the third Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.

    Higgins was the first beat writer to cover every race on the NASCAR schedule, a role he held from 1980 until his retirement in 1997. He started his journalism career in 1957 at the weekly Canton (N.C.) Enterprise where he covered racing for the first time. Higgins joined the sports staff at The Observer in 1964 as an outdoors writer and soon began covering stock car racing as well. He has continued to write motorsports nostalgia columns for the newspaper and its website ThatsRacin.com since his retirement.

    About NASCAR
    The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States. NASCAR consists of three national series (the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), four regional series, one local grassroots series and three international series. The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) governs the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the premier U.S. sports car series. Based in Daytona Beach, Fla., with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and follow NASCAR at www.Facebook.com/NASCAR and Twitter: @NASCAR.

    About NASCAR Hall of Fame
    Conveniently located in uptown Charlotte, N.C., the 150,000-square-foot NASCAR Hall of Fame is an interactive, entertainment attraction honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR. The high-tech venue, designed to educate and entertain race fans and non-fans alike, opened May 11, 2010 and includes artifacts, hands-on exhibits, 278-person state-of-the-art theater, Hall of Honor, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, NASCAR Hall of Fame Gear Shop and NASCAR Media Group-operated broadcast studio. The venue is opened 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. seven days a week and has an attached parking garage on Brevard Street. The five-acre site also includes a privately developed 19-story office tower and 102,000- square-foot expansion to the Charlotte Convention Center, highlighted by a 40,000 square-foot ballroom. The NASCAR Hall of Fame is owned by the City of Charlotte, licensed by NASCAR and operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. www.NASCARHall.com.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Goody’s 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Goody’s 500

    Hosting the first Eliminator race in the Chase, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 66th annual Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

    Surprising: While some tributes were expected, especially with the remembrance of the Hendrick Motorsports plane crash at Martinsville ten years ago, other tributes also abounded, from the race winner’s tribute to his crew chief to the tribute of Front Row Motorsports to Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott.

    “He turned my career around,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said, paying tribute to his crew chief Steve Letarte after winning his first ever race at Martinsville. “He put a great team together. What he’s accomplished is impressive as hell. I’m overwhelmed with what he’s been able to do.”

    “He put me in Victory Lane,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet continued about his crew chief. “Like I say, the team he’s assembled, incredible group. That’s all Steve. He seems to have evolved into one of the best crew chiefs in the garage.”

    The other major tribute at Sunday’s Martinsville race was to Wendell Scott, the first African American to win in NASCAR competition. Darrell Wallace Jr. carried the tribute paint scheme to Victory Lane in the Truck Series race and David Ragan piloted his Scott tribute No. 34 Front Row Motorsports car to a tenth place finish in the Cup race.

    “Last Sunday was a good day for us,” Ragan said. “To get a top-10 finish was a real shot in the arm for this team and for Front Row Motorsports, and to do it in the Wendell Scott tribute car made it even more special.”

    Not Surprising: It’s not often that the race runner up is embarrassed, but four-time champion driving for five Jeff Gordon was just that, taking his lumps for his mistake speeding on pit road.

    “I’m embarrassed to say this,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said. “Completely my fault.”

    “We do two settings, one in first gear, one in second gear. A late sequence for each one. I ran second gear under my light sequence for first gear,” Gordon continued. “I was supposed to run one green light in second gear and one red light in first gear. I ran one red light in second gear. That’s way too fast.”

    “I knew right then I was speeding.”

    Surprising: After no Talladega ‘big one’ the previous race, it was surprising to see a huge, hard wreck at one of the sport’s shortest tracks. The Martinsville ‘big one’ included Kasey Kahne and Casey Mears taking big hits, as well as Danica Patrick, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex and Brian Vickers involved in the melee.

    “I just didn’t really see him (No. 2, Brad Keselowski) slowing down,” Kahne said. “I think my spotter was spotting me and I think he saw it last second. As soon as he said it I hit the brakes, but it was way too late.”

    “It was a pretty good hit.”

    “I was behind the No. 43 (Aric Almirola) and I guess the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) was just backing up on the outside, I don’t know what happened,” Casey Mears said. “I saw the No. 43 go a little bit low and I was just using up all the track and right when I hit the No. 2 my spotter said the No. 2 is backing up. I just plowed him.”

    “I ran into him hard.”

    Not Surprising: Smoke did rise again at Martinsville, albeit with a bit of a gamble staying out on old tires to finish 4th place in his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet.

    “I don’t even think it was a gutsy call,” Tony Stewart said. “To me it was a no-brainer and if we were in that spot 100 times, that is the choice I want to make. I want to give ourselves a chance to fight for it like that.”

    “This car was pretty good all weekend,” Smoke continued. “I just can’t thank Johnny Morris (Bass Pro Shops) and Rusty Rush and everybody at Mobil 1 and Eric (Bagdikian) from Code 3 Associates and his staff; and most of all, our fans.”

    “They have been plowing a tough road for the last 18 months and this top 5 is for the fans more than anybody.”

    Surprising: Austin Dillon again outscored Kyle Larson in the Rookie of the Race battle, for the second week in a row. RCR driver Dillon finished 12th after starting 19th and Larson, in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, finished 30th after a crash on Lap 487.

    “I’m really proud of everyone at RCR today,” Dillon said. “I was hoping to pass the No. 34 at the very end there to gain one more position and finish 11th, but a 12th-place finish – hey we’ll take it.”

    “It was a true team effort.”

    “I was terrible all day,” Larson, the other rookie contender said of his Martinsville adventure. “I’m just not very good at this track.”

    “I kept running into the back of people when cars five or six in front of me would check up, then it would get to me and I’d hit them,” Larson continued. “It was a really bad race for me.”

    Not Surprising: Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne proved that three times was a charm in bringing out the yellow flag together. The two drivers mixed it up royally and potentially could have caused four or more cautions had they not been warned by NASCAR to cool it down.

    “He definitely wrecked us on purpose the first time, I mean look at the video,” Vickers said of his incidents with Kahne. “He just hooked us in the bumper and just wrecked us, I don’t know why.”

    “I was actually passing him off of (Turn) 2 and he didn’t give me room and I was going to hit the wall so I lifted a little,” Kahne said in response. “And then he kind of went high into (Turn) 3, and that’s where I was entering so he blocked. So I went low to pass him and then he chopped low across and spun himself out.”

    “He was using up the whole race track so I was going high, then he went high,” Kahne continued. “Then I decided to go low, and he went low and spun himself out on my front end. I was confused as to why he would want to do that. Then later on he crashed me. I don’t know what his deal was he was using up the whole track. You get one lane you don’t get all of them.”

    Surprising: In addition to the wrecking and tempers flaring, there were also actual flames on the track, from Timmy Hill, who went ablaze early, to Kurt Busch, who had a conflagration in his car on Lap 424.

    “I think we ruptured an oil line,” Busch said. “Whether it was the fitting or the line itself, I don’t know.”

    “But we had a really good run. We were in the mix. We were running up front with the Haas Automation Chevy and we were in that spot where we won that race this spring,” the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet continued. “I was hoping to get off the broom, but instead we’ve got our broom cleaning up our kitty litter.”

    Not Surprising: The winless wonders continued their quiet and calculated consistency at Martinsville, with Ryan Newman finishing third and Matt Kenseth taking the checkered flag in the sixth position.

    “The strategy of two tires there at the end worked out good for us,” Newman said. “Right number of laps with the guys that stayed out, kept the guys behind us that had four tires.”

    “Just a great team effort for the Quicken Loans Chevrolet, everybody at RCR,” Newman continued. “It was fun to have at least our highest running position be the last lap of the race.”

    “We didn’t run the way we wanted to run,” Kenseth said. “We still finished respectably with all the stuff that happened. Like I said, we didn’t run great today, but they made some good calls and did the right things at the end and finished strong.”

    Surprising: AJ Allmendinger continued to surprise with his “little engine that could’ team finishing ninth in his No. 47 Clorox Products Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty Racing.

    “Good day, honestly maybe one of the best days we have had all year just in the sense of not great early on, fighting hard,” ‘Dinger said. “The guys had good pit stops and then a couple of adjustments there.”

    “In a way ninth is a little bit disappointing,” Allmendinger continued. “But overall just really proud of the team that was probably one of the best efforts we have had all year.”

    Not Surprising: Revenge is mine said one Kevin Harvick after the race of his struggles with competitor Matt Kenseth, with whom he tussled on track.

    “The good thing about this format is you have two more weeks and two race tracks that we can win on,” Harvick said after being involved in an early accident and finishing 33rd. “Everybody was so worried about us starting in the back and we wrecked at the front. Unfortunate.”

    And of his Kenseth issues, Harvick had a rather cryptic remark about his competitor to end the race weekend.

    “Yeah, he won’t win this championship. If we don’t, he won’t.”

  • Hot 20 – Upon reflection, I believe Wendell Scott is finally getting what he deserved

    Hot 20 – Upon reflection, I believe Wendell Scott is finally getting what he deserved

    When we think of a Hall of Fame inductee, we usually think of outstanding performances and career achievements. There are champions, there are race winners, and there are legends. Few should be able to argue against the merits of one so honored, but we do.

    For example, there is one inductee that did not have the career boasted by most of his peers. He did not perform as many seasons and did not achieve the successes realized by most of the others. Some believe his inclusion amongst the immortals had more to do with his ability to compete against adversity as much as those he faced on the field of battle. He not only represented those who loved him, but those who shared a common station in life, the same racial traits, and suffered the same prejudice. The fact he was able to compete when others were denied the opportunity, to achieve what others like him could only dream of doing, and to hopefully pave the way for others to succeed gave him entry into the hallowed hall as much as anything one might find in the record of his career.

    Of course, I am referring to Jackie Robinson. When he entered Cooperstown in 1962, he could boast of just serving ten seasons in Major League Baseball. He had just 1518 hits, 137 home runs, and stole just 197 bases. When compared to the likes of Ruth, Cobb, Wagner, Gehrig and Williams, or the marks of Aaron, Mays, and Henderson after him, the stat sheet of Jackie Robinson is a rather modest one. However, what he represented when he arrived with the Dodgers at the age of 28 back in 1947, and what he was able to prove, and the pathway he created for those who followed go far beyond hits and runs and stolen bases.

    Military service and then baseball’s color barrier contributed to his late start in the Show. Still, Robinson did not waste any time showcasing his talents when he got there. In those ten seasons, he was part of the 1955 World Series champions, played in six fall classics, was a six-time all-star, a Rookie of the Year, and a MVP.

    Similar to Robinson’s situation, you did not see men of Wendell Scott’s racial background racing stock cars in the south in the 1950s. That changed on May 23, 1952 when those who ran the Danville, Virginia race of the Dixie circuit thought having a black man compete against the white boys would be a novelty. Scott did not win, he even heard a few boos, but he got hooked. Yet, when he then tried to enter a NASCAR event in one of the lower levels, he discovered that they were not looking for a novelty that day and Scott was denied entry.

    Back to the rival circuit he went, winning his first race a dozen days after his career began. When he ran a NASCAR-sanctioned event in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1954 they paid $15 gas money to all the competitors, except for the one with the darkest skin pigmentation. When he asked NASCAR founder Bill France about that, he was told that he was a NASCAR member and from that point forward he would be treated as such. France reached into his own wallet and took out $30 to make amends.

    Scott finally drove at NASCAR’s highest level at the age of 39. In his third season, on December 1, 1963, he made history by winning a Grand National event in Jacksonville, Florida. Probably due to the times, it was Buck Baker who got the trophy that day, even though it was shown that Scott won the race by two laps! His family eventually got the trophy, though it was not until 2010, twenty years after Scott’s passing. Still, it is his name, not Baker’s, in the record books as the winner that day.

    Running on a shoestring budget, Wendell Scott ran “just” 495 Grand National events, a total that has him ranked 35th all-time. Over 13 seasons, Scott earned 147 Top Tens, just one less than Junior Johnson. Four times (1966-69) he ranked among the season’s Top Ten, the last time when he was 48 years of age. 182 men have won a Cup race since 1948, and Wendell Scott is among them. Not bad for someone who did not begin his Cup career until he reached the same age Dale Earnhardt Jr is today. Wendell Scott closed his Cup career at the age of 52 when he ran in the National 500 at Charlotte in the fall of 1973. He finished 12th.

    Scott, along with Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Rex White and Joe Weatherly, will take their place among the legends in January. Meanwhile, as the World 600 takes center stage in Charlotte this weekend, we see that the nod for top driver this season goes to future Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon by virtue of his win in Kansas. By awarding 22 additional points per win, we reward those who take the checkered flags while not resorting to gimmicks or Chases to determine who is “the” driver of 2014.

    Pos-Driver-Points-Wins
    1    Jeff Gordon – 416 pts – 1 win
    2   Kyle Busch – 395 –  1 win
    3   Joey Logano – 390 – 2 wins
    4   Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 390 – 1 win
    5   Carl Edwards – 389 – 1 win
    6   Matt Kenseth – 379
    7   Brad Keselowski – 348 – 1 win
    8   Kevin Harvick – 346 – 2 wins
    9   Denny Hamlin – 340 – 1 win
    10 Jimmie Johnson – 340
    11  Ryan Newman – 332
    12 Greg Biffle – 328
    13 Brian Vickers – 327
    14 Kyle Larson – 318
    15 Austin Dillon – 306
    16 Kasey Kahne – 294
    17 A.J. Allmendinger – 293
    18 Paul Menard – 292
    19 Marcos Ambrose – 288
    20 Clint Bowyer – 282

     

  • A Great Day for the Hall of Fame, but the Procedure is Flawed

    A Great Day for the Hall of Fame, but the Procedure is Flawed

    The NASCAR Hall of Fame nominations usually make me yawn. Year after year, mostly because of the Hall’s policy of only naming a few to the Hall and the fact that it includes drivers, owners, mechanics, and the front office people, it seems that those truly deserving of getting in the Hall aren’t accepted. This year was different. The five who will be inducted in January—Bill Elliott, Wendell Scott, Rex White, Joe Weatherly, and Fred Lorenzen—are all drivers for the first time. It is the process that I have always thought made no sense.

    First of all, there is no earthly reason why drivers, owners, crew chiefs, front office people and the media should not be grouped separately because each segment does very different things. There should be nominations in each category and separate voting. Maybe NASCAR should look at Major League Baseball and the National Football League. I feel sure that would be a better system.

    I know little about the NFL Hall mainly because I’m not a big football fan, but I can speak about the MLB Hall. Players and managers have to be retired for five years. Terry Labonte has two starts this year and Bill Elliott last raced in 2012. Both are worthy of induction. In fact, you won’t find a bigger fan of either driver than this writer, but the rule of “what have you done for me lately” has seemed to influence voters. What logic is it that Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett should be inducted before Fred Lorenzen, Bobby Isaac, Buddy Baker and others? Why were legends like Dale Inman, Maurice Petty, Cotton Owens and Bud Moore forced to compete with more visible drivers? It makes no sense, even though each person mentioned is very worthy of induction into the Hall.

    There are many who deserve to be honored. Having segments would allow many deserving people to have a chance at gaining Hall membership. At its present rate, some greats will never have a chance to enter the hall in their lifetimes. I find this to be a shame. There should be a segment or section for the lesser series stars and the media. Newspaper writers like Tom Higgins, David Poole, Monte Dutton, Thomas Pope and many more were as big a part in making the sport grow as others. Car owners—they’ve already entered the Woods and the principals in the Petty organization as well as Moore and others, but shouldn’t that be a different category? Why are the founders, current team owners (Rick Hendrick), track owners (Bruton Smith), and others competing with the stars of the sport? Why are present owners with no retirement in their future being considered? I cannot find a logical explanation.

    Regardless of my problem with the only five person induction and the lack of categories or segments, I was pleased this year. The five to be inducted are very worthy. If you’ve never had a chance to go to the Hall of Fame, I highly recommend it as a venue to be seen. I learn something every time I go, and I’ve been following this sport for the better part of 50 years. I just wish they would take my suggestions. The voters got it right this year. Elliott, Scott, White, Weatherly, and Lorenzen should be in the Hall and now they are. That’s a great job.

  • Why Wendell Scott Should be Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

    Why Wendell Scott Should be Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

    As the 2015 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame were announced on February 21, I began putting together my list of hopefuls for induction. Wendell Scott’s name immediately came to mind.

    He was selected as a nominee for the 2013 class but even before then, his worthiness has often been a subject of debate. If you look only at his statistics, you may agree that he falls short of Hall of Fame status. In a career that spanned 13 years and 495 races in what is now the Sprint Cup Series, he has one win, 20 top-fives and 147 top-10 finishes.

    But if you dig deeper, it’s obvious that the numbers do not tell the whole story.

    In some ways, his story is not so different from the grass roots racers who built this sport. Like many others, Scott raced in inferior equipment with little or no financial backing. He raced because from the moment he strapped into a racecar, he was hooked.

    But his story diverges from other racers when you add in the discrimination he faced each time he chose to get into a car and compete. Most of the people didn’t want him there and that included the fans, track promoters and other drivers. His tires were slashed and rules were fabricated to discourage him.

    One of the most glaring examples of this animosity happened when he won his first race. Buck Baker was initially named as the winner of the race. Officials eventually admitted their “scoring error” and declared Scott as the winner.

    But the truth is that it wasn’t a mistake in scoring at all.  It was simply a way for the track owner to avoid the backlash from a black driver kissing a white trophy queen during the victory celebration.

    Scott never got to accept the winner’s trophy. In fact, it wasn’t until October 2010 that NASCAR presented the trophy to Scott’s family.

    It would be easy to speculate on what he could have accomplished…if only. But Hall of Fame honors aren’t handed out for what could have been.

    How do you measure a man’s (or woman’s) worth in this sport?

    It’s not only about wins and championships. If that was the case we wouldn’t need a voting committee. They also consider the contributions and impact a person has on the sport.

    Scott is the only African-American to ever win a Cup race in NASCAR. That alone should guarantee him a place in the Hall of Fame.  However, this particular achievement is not only his biggest accomplishment but his detractors would add that it is also his biggest failure.

    If his win made such an impact, they ask, why did we have to wait almost 50 years for another African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race?

    Maybe it has less to do with his impact and more to do with the perception of those doing the judging.

    Maybe his impact seems diminished only through the eyes of a sport whose roots are firmly entrenched in the antiquated traditions of the good old days. Just ask NASCAR’s appointed king, Richard Petty, who recently questioned the role of women in NASCAR.

    NASCAR will tell you they are fully invested in expanding the sport through institutions like their Drive for Diversity program and I have no reason to doubt their sincerity. But is it enough? Despite their efforts, does NASCAR truly reflect the America we live in today?

    Perhaps the importance of someone like Wendell Scott is not apparent because of some perceived failure on his part to inspire but simply because change takes time.

    I would also suggest that the members of the voting committee are asking the right questions but are looking for the answers in the wrong places. If you want to measure Scott’s influence, speak to the African American community. How many youngsters watched him and said, ‘if he can do it, maybe I can too.’ How many have tried and failed? Is success the yardstick by which we measure his influence?

    Shouldn’t we be asking, how many would have never tried if not for someone like Wendell Scott?

  • NASCAR Beginnings Featuring Buck Baker

    NASCAR Beginnings Featuring Buck Baker

    Elzie Wylie “Buck” Baker was one of the most dominant drivers in NASCAR during the 1950s. His never give up attitude was the fuel for the fire that pushed him to be the best. Baker became the first driver to win consecutive Sprint Cup Championships in 1956 and 1957.

    His strategy was a mixture of determination and the belief that he was capable of winning any race.

    “You can’t let anyone think you’re not going to win a race,” he once said during an interview. “If you talk yourself out of believing you are a

    winnner, then you might as well stay in the pits and let someone else do the driving.”

    “There were times we left home without money to buy new tires. We didn’t know where the money was coming from. Heck, there’s times we didn’t have money to put gas in the truck to get to the track.”

    “But someone always came through for what we needed. We always could have used more and better equipment, but I’m talking about don’t let yourself believe you can’t be a winner.”

    Baker was born on a farm near Chester, SC on March 4, 1919. He didn’t grow up with dreams of racing but he always had a wild streak.

    It was a bull calf named Buck that inspired Baker’s nickname because he shared the same uncontrolled abandon as the animal. That recklessness continued into his teenage years when he began running moonshine for his cousin.

    He also supplemented his income with a variety of other jobs including working in a bakery and selling cars.

    When World War II erupted, Baker did a stint in the Navy and served in Maryland. But even the regimented life of a serviceman did not change him. He still found a way to run moonshine for his pals in his spare time.

    After the Navy he moved with his wife and son to Charlotte, NC. Baker found work as a bus driver for Trailways. He had a family and a regular job but Baker was never the typical family man.

    One evening he was headed to Union, SC, with about 20 passengers on board. Somebody mentioned that there was a square dance in the town of Chester. They all took a vote and decided to take a detour to the dance.

    “The vote to go to the dance was unanimous among the passengers, who were singing and having a good time. So I parked the bus and we all went in. Meanwhile, the dispatcher had the police out looking for the bus.”

    They finally arrived in Union about three hours late.

    “The passengers were half drunk, hanging out the windows and waving and carrying on. Driving into the garage to park the bus, I almost ran over the owner of the company. He fired me on the spot but rehired me the next morning before it was time to make another run.”

    It was during this period of his life that Baker decided he wanted to try his hand at becoming a race car driver. He got a later start than most but competed in his first NASCAR race in 1949, at the age of 30.

    Baker found some success in those early years, racing mostly as an independent owner/driver and in 1952 he captured his first win in the Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) in Columbia, SC.

    Baker was known as a hard charger both on and off the track. His competitors knew that too much beating and banging on the track would be dealt with in the pits after the race.

    “My dad won his share of races on the track,” said Baker’s son Buddy, “but I don’t think he ever lost a battle in the pits.”

    In 1955 Baker finished second in the points standings and caught the eye of mulit-car team owner, Carl Kiekhaefer.

    “I saw that Buck was my top competition,” Kiekhaefer said.  “There is only one thing to do with a man like that — hire him!”

    In 1956 Baker won 14 races and his first Cup championship while driving for Carl Kiekhaefer who was partnered with legendary car and engine builder, Ray Fox.

    The following year, Kiekhaefer left NASCAR and Baker was on his own again. He partnered with Bud Moore as his crew chief and scored ten victories in 1957. Baker won his second Cup championship becoming the first driver to win consecutive championships.

    The following season Baker once again finished second in the points standings.

    One of Baker’s most controversial races was on December 1, 1963 at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, FL. Although NASCAR awarded the winning trophy to Baker, the race was actually won by Wendell Scott.

    Hours after the event, NASCAR officials admitted that Scott had won the race. Wendell Scott went in the record books as the first and only African-American to win a NASCAR race in the premier Cup series. They gave him a trophy about a month later in Savannah, but it wasn’t the real thing. Baker got the real trophy.

    Years later, Baker would say, “Many racers gave him a hard time, including some of my friends, but I got along fine with him and tried to help him. He did as well as anybody with the equipment he had.”

    “By the time he was declared the winner, all the fans had left the track. I’ll always believe that I won the race, but I don’t want to take anything from Scott by saying that. It was OK with me, and I was happy for him.”

    Baker continued to race until 1976. In 636 starts, he won 46 times and ranks 14th on the all-time wins list.

    In addition to his two championships, Baker won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway three times. His last victory there came in 1964, at the age of 45. It would also be the final win of his career.

    Baker considered it his biggest accomplishment.

    “In 1964, I drove Ray Fox’s Dodge in the Southern 500. I was 45 years old at the time. Fox was concerned that I was too old to run 500 miles. Others had written me off as too old. I told Fox not to worry about the horse, just load the wagon. Buddy (Buck’s son) was there, and toward the end of the race, Fox was seriously thinking that I might need relief. Buddy told him there was absolutely no need to say anything to me, because I wouldn’t get out of the car. And he’s never been more right.”

    “It was the biggest thrill I had in racing. There was nothing left for me to prove to those who had said I was finished.”

    Baker was known as one of the most versatile racers of his time. He won races in NASCAR’s Modified, Speedway and Grand American series, raced in multiple makes of cars and won for eight different team owners.

    His son, Buddy once said, “There was a time in the modified division that nobody could beat him.”

    After retiring from NASCAR, Baker opened the Buck Baker Driving School in 1980. Many of today’s top drivers have attended his school including Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton and Ward Burton.

    Baker claimed that Jeff Gordon made the decision to race stock cars at his school.

    “He turned North Carolina Speedway about three seconds faster than the school car he was driving had ever gone. He drove to the motel and told his mother that stock car racing was what he was going to do for the rest of his life. I knew then that he was going to be a hell of a driver. I guess the rest, shall we say, is history in the making.”

    In 1998 Buck Baker was named as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers and in 2010 was honored as a nominee in the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

    Baker died on April 14, 2002 at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC, at the age of 83.

    His son, Buddy, followed his father’s path, winning 19 NASCAR Cup races and continued his legacy at the Buck Baker Driving School.

    He summed up his father’s life saying, “Throughout the entire racing world, I don’t know of anybody who would have said he didn’t give 110 percent from the time they dropped the green flag until the time the race was over.”

    “He was that same way in life, too.”

    Achievements:

    1982 – Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame
    1990 – Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
    1992 – Inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
    1996 – Inducted into the Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame
    1998 – Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
    1998 – Named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers
    2010 – Nominee to the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame induction class
    2011 – Nominee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
    2012 – Nominee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame

    Thanks to circletrack.com for Buck Baker quotes