Buddy Baker, a former NASCAR racer known as the "Gentle Giant" for his 6-foot-6 frame and as "Leadfoot" for his uncompromising, flat-out driving style, died Monday. He was 74.
Baker, who became a racing commentator after ending his driving career in 1992, left his job on Sirius XM NASCAR radio last month after announcing that he had a "huge" inoperable lung tumor.
He died at his home in Lake Norman, N.C., the radio outlet announced.
With his Southern drawl and his good-ol'-boy manner, Baker gently let his audience in on his grim prognosis: "There comes a time when you talk to the doctor and say, 'What are my chances?