NASCAR’s history is filled with drivers who have an insurmountable love for speed. But one driver who was head over heels in love with breathtaking speed was Buddy Baker. Baker was the first person to achieve a speed of 200 miles per hour on a closed circuit. He also won the 1980 Daytona 500 with an average speed of 177.602 miles per hour, a track record that still stands today.
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Numerous other records proudly display his name next to them. Born on January 25, 1941, Baker would have turned 84 years old last Saturday. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2015 following a battle with lung cancer, leaving the world to deal with a huge loss.
Veteran ESPN broadcaster Dr. Jerry Lee Punch put up a special message about him on social media on account of the melancholic day. He wrote, “… Always willing to offer advice or mentor young drivers. Always willing to ask for advice as a commentator, & so appreciative when anyone offered it. Just a great person! RIP big fella”
He was fearless & tenacious on the track ; but gentle, kind & loyal to his friends off of it. Always willing to offer advice or mentor young drivers. Always willing to ask for advice as a commentator, & so appreciative when anyone offered it. Just a great person! RIP big fella https://t.co/EG2GX9gCYO
— Dr. Jerry Lee Punch (@DocPunchESPN) January 25, 2025
Following his racing career, Baker worked as a commentator for TNN, TBS, and CBS. It was at this time that he became closely acquainted with the doctor. The impact he created in the booth and with his colleagues is transparently visible from such words of praise. On his death anniversary, the racing world is duty-bound to recollect his words during his final broadcast.
He said, “Do not shed a tear. Give a smile when you say my name. I am not saying goodbye. Just talk to you later.” The Gentle Giant, as he was fondly called, often left people grinning, whether it was in his race car or front of a mic. The smiles will continue to flow easily with the hope that it isn’t the last that has been heard of him.
Baker and his affair with the DC-93
It is often a particular car that lifts a driver to the heights of glory and fame. For Baker, it was a blue-colored 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. Chrysler Corporation employees lovingly call it the DC-93. On March 24, 1970, Baker and the car went out for a spin on the lightning-fast lanes of the Alabama International Motor Speedway and came out creating history.
Baker raced at 200.447 miles per hour in the tire test and juiced everything out of DC-93’s spectacular engine. He said after the achievement, “Gosh, it’s the most wonderful feeling I’ve had in a long, long time. This is something nobody can ever take from you. Being the first guy to run 200 mph on a close-course circuit. Gosh, I’m just tickled to death.”
The record proved to the world that achieving such a high speed was possible in road-going machines and solidified Baker’s image as an unparalleled daredevil. DC-93 sits in the NASCAR Hall of Fame today tearily reminiscing the same message that the legend left us: “I am not saying goodbye. Just talk to you later.”
