One NASCAR legend talks about the loss of another legend, Buddy Baker

Sue and Buddy Baker accepting for Buck Baker at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on February 8, 2013 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Getty Images)
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Sue and Buddy Baker accepting for Buck Baker at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on February 8, 2013 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Getty Images)

NASCAR lost the Gentle Giant Monday. Elzie Wylie “Buddy” Baker Jr., the 1980 Daytona 500 champion and famed NASCAR commentator, died after a battle with cancer,. Baker was 74. At 6 feet 6 inches tall Baker was known to many as the Gentle Giant , but to his competitors he was known as “Leadfoot” for the speeds he regularly reached during his 33-year career.

Monday as the tributes began to pour out, one NASCAR legend talked about his friend and former competitor.  Three time NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip followed a similar path to Baker, joining the ranks of NASCAR TV commenters after he retired from racing in 2000.

“We have lost another NASCAR legend,” Waltrip said in a press release from his current employer Fox Sports. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.