Buddy Baker, the folksy storyteller of Nascar broadcasts, was known as the Gentle Giant. But during his racing career he was famed for his daring, notably in his only win in the Daytona 500.
Baker, who died Monday at 74, won four times at both Talladega and Charlotte. But the big one, Daytona, eluded the 6-foot-6 Baker for years.
He had tried 17 times, including three attempts from the pole position, and had only a second, a third and a fifth place to show for it. In 1980, he was again on the pole.