Where is ... Buddy Baker? (cont'd)

Four times, Baker won at Talladega. Another four times, he went to Victory Lane at Charlotte. It was the Daytona 500 that eluded for so long, and not until 1980 did he finally notch a win in the sport's biggest race.

He did it in style. His 177.602 mph average is still the quickest Daytona 500 ever run.

"No doubt, winning the Daytona 500," Baker replied when asked what his proudest accomplishment was in the sport. "I had won four races at Charlotte, four at Talladega. Atlanta. Darlington. I'd won some big races. It took me 18 years to win the Daytona 500, and [Dale] Earnhardt 19."

On the flip side, one of Baker's biggest regrets is that he rarely concentrated on winning a NASCAR championship. In only three of the 33 years in which he competed did Baker run a full schedule.

"I didn't place myself with a team that was capable of running for the championship," Baker said. "I did a lot of testing for both Goodyear and Firestone. At that time, doing that paid better."

The track then known as Charlotte Motor Speedway saw Baker win his first race in October 1967. Baker's victory in the event ended Richard Petty's historic run of 10 consecutive wins that season. However, it was also at Charlotte in 1988 that Baker sustained a head injury that eventually led to his retirement.

He soldiered on for a few more races in '88, and even scored top-10 finishes at Pocono, Daytona and Talladega. Severe dizzy spells, however, forced him out of the car he co-owned with Danny Schiff beginning at Watkins Glen. He would not drive again for another year and a half, until early in the 1990 season at Atlanta.

"The nice part of getting hurt was that you don't remember it," Baker said with a laugh. He can do that now, laugh. Then, it was incredibly hard getting used to the notion of not driving. He began broadcasting races with The Nashville Network, and that kept him in and around the garage.

When he came back in 1990 with car owner Junie Donlavey, things were different. He satisfied himself that he could still drive, but also that he'd had enough. He wasn't going to tempt fate, and in that is a testament to his character. He didn't hang on, trying to chase something that just wasn't there.

"I qualified 30th and drove it up through there to fifth. Junie radioed me and said, 'I ain't never seen anything like that,'" Baker said. "Going down the backstretch, I told him that I'd done what I needed to do, that I proved to myself that I could still do it. The next thing I know, Mark Martin goes straight up into the air and I get caught up in the wreck.

"When you come back, the good rides are gone. There had been a time when I made moves on the track without even thinking about it, on instinct. I'd see an opening and just go for it. When I came back, I had to think about doing something before I did it."

After running three races in 1992, Baker turned his full attention to broadcasting. Today, he focuses on his Sirius show. He's got to stay up on everything that's going on, because the folks who listen know as much as he does.

Or ... they think they do, at any rate. One thing that sticks with him, though, is the notion that current drivers are overpaid. Nope. That doesn't fly, not with Buddy Baker.

"That's malarkey," Baker said. "These guys put their lives on the line every time they get into a car. To do what they do, they should get paid ... and paid well."