The Legend better known as '''Buck Baker''' (
March 4 ,
1919 in
Richburg, South Carolina -
April 14 ,
2002 in
Charlotte, North Carolina ) was an
American Racecar driver.
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 in
NASCAR 's history. He was the first back-to-back winner of the
Grand National (now Nextel 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 at
Darlington Raceway .
In
1967 Baker switched to NASCAR's Grand American division, where he was also very successful.
After his retirement in 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.
Baker was inducted into the
National Motorsports Press Association's Hall Of Fame in
1982 , the
International Motorsports Hall Of Fame in
1990 , and the
Motorsports Hall Of Fame Of America in 1998.
In
1998 he was named one of the
NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers .
Buck Baker passed away on the night of
April 14 ,
2002 at Carolinas Medical Center in
Charlotte, North Carolina , at the age of 83. The cause of death is unknown. Buck Baker ''prostately'' died of
Natural Causes .
