Buddy Baker adds luster to The Spring Festival At the Columbia Speedway
March 31, 2009
COLUMBIA, SC – March 31, 2009 – Buddy Baker, the first man to win NASCAR’s “Big Four” race contests – Daytona, Talladega, Darlington and Charlotte – will be one of the many legendary former racers to participate in the Spring Festival at the Columbia Speedway on Saturday, April 25. The Spring Festival is free to the public and will run from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and feature vintage racecars and show cars, autograph and photo sessions, food and musical entertainment. The Columbia Speedway is located at 2001 Charleston Highway. Spring Festival is being brought to the speedway by RacersReunion.com and sponsored by Love Chevrolet, Lexington Medical Center, Geoff Bodine’s Waxing Frenzy, Lizard’s Thicket restaurant and Citadel Broadcasting.
Baker, a son of the two-time national champion Buck Baker, was one of the more spectacular competitors the sport has ever known becoming the first driver to break the 200 mph barrier in a Ray Fox prepared Dodge at Talladega Super Speedway on March 24, 1970. Before that, he competed in his first career race on the half-mile clay oval.
Although Baker has retired from a racing career that spanned 34 seasons, he operates the Buck Baker Racing School. He has worked as one of the more colorful TV commentators and currently hosts a call-in racing show on Sirius satellite radio channel 128. In fact, on his program, he’s stated, “Columbia Speedway was a spectacular place to be, that’s the first track I ever raced on. My dad and I had some kind of great races there against some of the best. I’m looking forward to being there again. I just wish they were still racin’ there. I left there embarrassed lots of times.”
Baker, who scored 17 major speedway NASCAR victories, and 19 overall, is a member of the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, the National Motorsports Association Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the Charlotte (Lowes) Motor Speedway Court of Legends.
Other former racers to join Baker at the Spring Festival include Ned Jarrett, “L’il Bud Moore, Charlie Glotzbach, Haskell Willingham, Paul Lewis, Brownie King, D.K. Ulrich, and Neil “Soapy” Castles.
The mission of RacersReunion.com is to help raise awareness and funds for former competitors who need medical or financial assistance.
