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The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
by the Frontstretch Staff
Entry List: XFINITY Series Runs Standalone Show at Mid-Ohio
Entry List: Truck Series Prepares for Speed in Michigan
Texas Motor Speedway Reveals Pre-Race Entertainment for AAA Texas 500
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Buddy Baker: The Voice of NASCAR in the '90s
Sitting in the Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady
Monday morning. Caffeine. Work looming in my way. Checking the usual social media and crap…Buddy Baker passed away. Sadness washed over me. It isn't because I ever spoke to Buddy or knew him. I am a simple NASCAR fan, one whose passion for this sport was expanding just as he entered the commentary booth back in 1992 with TNN and CBS. Without conscious thought, his light voice mingled into my mind with other greats like Ken Squier and a young Mike Joy. Buddy Baker became part of the sound of a great afternoon at home with my husband and the television.
Buddy came from the trenches of the track, literally born into it as son of the great Hall of Fame driver Buck Baker. He had driven the ovals back when they sported splinters in the grandstand seats. He won, he lost. He set records. He entered into my world as somebody who simply breathed the rhythm of the sport. His authentic southern twang planted me firmly in the Southeast, where the cars ran so often. I believed that Buddy knew it all and at the same time could impart such wisdom to my hungry mind.
Buddy belongs to the hinge of our sport where change encircled the production booth. Just as Jeff Gordon heralded the arrival of those polished youths sporting nice haircuts and who had been raised with a camera and microphone in their face, Buddy pulled us back to when a rattletrap trailer could roll into town carrying the dented beast that won last night on some distant dirt track. He could blend history with the present. He gave the characters behind the steering wheels personalities, as well as the locations NASCAR visited with regularity. Buddy was my racing encyclopedia. He never spoke down to his audience or tried to oversimplify a technical point. He certainly didn't make words up. He spoke honestly, from his heart.
Today, the networks make sure that everyone they invite to don a coat and tie on Sunday meets a certain standard in appearance. While I know the current batch of commentators all have the right racing pedigree, they do lack the color that made the earlier broadcasts worth listening to. You can talk about camera angles and changes in rolling stats all you want when dissecting whether the early '90s had better coverage, but the voices behind the action have always been equally important. The art of describing a car rolling out of the corner has been nearly lost as we rely more and more on sound clips from in-car radios and streaming of the scoring booth. It may be more accurate to relay exactly what is being said over team radios, but it is far more entertaining to wallow in the great clichés attributed to a stock car in trouble.
Buddy was a treasure, now lost to us. As is a time when NASCAR didn't glisten under the summer sun. Clouds of dust now hide that era. He rode the great tidal wave of incredible popularity, as a driver and then extending his public persona into the world of media. Always pertinent and present, he never lost touch with us—moving on to radio in his later years with SIRIUS XM.
We will have more great commentators, ones that will represent the time they live in. And they will achieve a certain level of immortality as YouTube will preserve their image and voices. Such is Buddy Baker. He is forever locked into my memory as part of the glorious '90s and NASCAR, the sight and sounds of the sport inextricably connected. I smile when I recall the races he announced. Now that smile is tinged with sorrow.
Rest in peace, Buddy. You certainly earned it.
Sonya's Scrapbook
Daytona Gatorade Twin 125s 1998
S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch and runs a NASCAR blog called the S-Curves. She can be reached via email at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna and on her Facebook page (she's an author, too!) at https://www.facebook.com/Author.SDGrady.
0
Career wins for Jimmie Johnson at Watkins Glen, a drought extended by Sunday's 10th-place finish. Johnson, who has only led 17 laps there during his career is also winless at Chicagoland, Kentucky, and Homestead among active Sprint Cup tracks.
1
Lap led by race winner Joey Logano out of 90. Logano led a race-high 97 laps at Pocono last week but failed to win when his fuel tank ran dry.
2
Straight races Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports has finished 42nd or worse. Teammate Jeff Gordon has finished outside the top 40 in two of the last three events (41st at the Glen).
3
Straight finishes of 34th or worse for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in Sprint Cup. It's the second time Stenhouse, 34th on Sunday has matched this type of slump this season.
4
Straight second-place finishes by Team Penske before Joey Logano's Sunday victory. Logano was second at Kentucky and Indianapolis while Brad Keselowski took runner-up honors at Loudon and Pocono.
5
Cautions for 16 laps at Watkins Glen. Only two of those five cautions were for cars stopped on the track or actual crashes.
6
Points Kyle Busch leads 31st place Cole Whitt by in the current Sprint Cup standings. Busch's ascension to 30th means the four-time winner this season is now eligible for this year's Chase.
8
Lead changes at Watkins Glen, tying a season low at the Cup level (Phoenix).
9
Years since Kevin Harvick won his lone road course race in Sprint Cup: the 2006 race at Watkins Glen. Harvick ran out of gas while leading in the final turns Sunday to deny him a second victory.
13
Top-3 finishes for Kevin Harvick, more than any other driver on the circuit. However, only two of those results have turned into victories.
15
Maximum number of race winners we can have during the 2015 Sprint Cup regular season. Sunday guaranteed at least one driver will make this year's Chase on points.
30
Green-flag laps to conclude Sunday's race at Watkins Glen. That's the longest run to the finish without a caution in this event since 1998.
32nd
Finishing position of Boris Said, the lone "road course ringer" to qualify for Sunday's race at Watkins Glen. Said spun out on the final lap and finished one lap off the pace.
$73,544
Money won by Tony Stewart after his 43rd-place finish at Watkins Glen. Stewart was the only driver not to finish the race.
$74,315
Money won by Michael McDowell after his 20th-place finish at Watkins Glen. McDowell's underdog operation - a part-time, single-car team - only got a difference of $871 over Stewart for their efforts.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
Who's Hot and Who's Not in NASCAR: Michigan Edition
by Jeff Wolfe
Buddy Baker's Death Felt Across NASCAR Nation
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Monday's Answer:
Q: In 2000, Kerry Earnhardt made his Cup Series debut at Michigan driving for Dave Marcis in his Realtree Chevrolet. However, that debut did not last very long. What happened?
A: Earnhardt spun his No. 71 and hit the wall hard in turn 3. In an interview with Bill Weber in the garage, Earnhardt indicated that he was loose and that another car, likely the No. 96 of fellow debutante Andy Houston, took the air off of him and spun him out. The crash can be seen here. Earnhardt was OK, but he was done for the day and finished 43rd.~~~~~~~~~~
COMING TOMORROW
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