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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PACE 3B
WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2008
Down the Stretch
When Buddy Baker calls, you
I was already working on a
few items for the next paper
last Wednesday afternoon
when my phone rang. Upon
answering, a familiar voice on
the other end said, “Hey, this is
Buddy Baker.”
Buddy was calling to talk about
being the grand marshal at this
year’s Mountain Moonshine
Festival, the annual gathering of
race and old car enthusiasts cen
tered around the square in down
town Dawsonville, in October.
The event always brings out
veteran racers, including David
Pearson, Cotton Owens, Rex
White and Junior Johnson.
Now, I would be misleading you
if I didn’t tell you right off the bat
that Buddy Baker has always been
one of my favorite racers, but not
just for his driving prowess.
In my opinion, Buddy is one of
the three all-time greatest story
tellers in NASCAR. The other
two are two-time champion driver
Tim Flock and veteran sports
writer Tom Higgins.
Though I’ve never met him face
to face, I’ve heard a lot of Buddy
Baker stories over the years.
For example, sometime in the
late 60s, Buddy agreed to make
an appearance at a dirt track run
by his friend Don Naman. During
the race, Buddy had a pretty hard
crash, demolishing his car, and
leaving him with some injured
ribs.
The ambulance crew hustled
around, got Buddy strapped down
good and tight to the stretcher,
and loaded him in the ambulance.
The driver jumped in and took
off.
It was at this moment that
Buddy made a startling discov
ery - his rescuers had forgotten to
latch the ambulance’s back door.
The stretcher, with Buddy still
strapped down tight, exited the
ambulance,
and took off
down the
backstretch.
To make
matters
worse, as
Buddy was
attempting a
land-speed
record on this
stretcher, a
dozen race-
cars came
around the turn at caution speed.
Buddy managed to get one arm
free, and started waving like mad,
hoping the drivers would spot
him.
The stretcher finally reached the
inside of the track, dug into the
mud, and somersaulted. Down
came Baker, face first into the
mud.
The paramedics, having been
notified that they had lost their
cargo, reached the scene moments
later.
As they turned the stretcher
over, Buddy, covered in mud,
looked up at one of them, and
said “When I get off this thing,
I’m gonna kill you first.”
Another story involves one of
Baker’s best friends, the late Tiny
Lund, who was a notorious practi
cal joker.
The two were attending a pre
race party one night, and Lund,
without Baker noticing, had
slipped away early.
Buddy was tired when he
returned to his hotel room later
that evening, so he didn’t even
turn the lights on. He just
stripped down au natural, and
jumped into bed.
He was just about to drift off to
sleep when he thought he heard
something growling. Hearing the
noise again, Buddy reached over
and flipped on the lamp to inves-
brandon
reed
Auto Racing
can bet I listen
tigate.
When the light came on, Buddy
found himself nose-to-nose with
the mascot of one of the race
sponsors - a live cheetah.
It was at this point that Baker
attempted another speed record
- the fastest naked man to travel
down a hotel hallway.
Buddy, fearing the cheetah was
on his heels, ran screaming like
a mad man - a naked mad man -
down the hallway.
The cheetah, just as scared as
Baker, had actually run off in the
other direction.
Halfway down the hallway,
he met Lund. Thinking Baker
was coming after him, Lund ran
quickly into his hotel room.
Baker instead thought Lund was
running away from the cheetah,
making Buddy run that much
faster.
Finally, he chanced a quick
glance behind him, and saw that
there was no cheetah. Baker
quickly returned to his hotel
room, only to find the door had
slammed shut behind the exiting
cheetah, and had locked.
Buddy hid behind a soda
machine until somebody could get
a passkey for him.
I’ve never heard how he got
even with Tiny, but I’m sure it
was a doozy.
I wish I would have had time to
talk to Buddy about those stories,
and many more I’ve heard over
the years, but time was tight last
week.
But with the moonshine festival
coming up Oct. 24, I’m sure I’ll
get a chance to hear some tales
from one of racing’s best story
tellers.
Brandon Reed is a reporter for
Mainstreet Newspapers. E-mail
comments about this column to
brandon@mainstreetnews.com.
THE VICTORS
The Banks County High School group of lineman emerged as the first place winners at the contest
in South Carolina recently. Photo by Melissa Hester
Linemen... continued from page IB
Zack Dale took the Root Hawg
event pushing a tire weaving through
a chute. Tramaine Mayfield won the
one-man sled contest while Clint
Caudell, Jeff Smith, Barry Whitfield,
Justin Lewallen, Justin Scott, Lyn
Hester, Nathan Mathis and Cody
Gowder helped make it a complete
team victory, Armstrong said.
Armstrong and assistant coach
es Chuck Hudson, Tony Bowen,
Brandon Worley, Jason Armstrong
and Shane Wilburn helped coached
the players while they were sup
ported by teammate and quarter
back Chris Porter and junior varsity
players Abner McCright and Nathan
Krumnow.
Local Racing
Petty Charity Ride to pass through area
The 2008 Kyle Petty Charity Ride
will be passing through Banks,
Jackson, Barrow and Gwinnett
counties on Friday.
The motorcycle ride, now in its
14th year, raises funds for charities
that support chronically ill children
and engages celebrities, ride spon
sors, motorcycle enthusiasts and
fans.
This year’s event began on Sunday
in Acme, Michigan, and will end
on Saturday in Savannah.
The route will bring the riders
through our area Friday morning,
as the tour will travel southbound
on 1-85 from Charlotte, N.C. The
riders are scheduled to make a
“pit stop" in Gwinnett County, at
the Racetrac gas station at 3195
Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road
around 11:30 a.m.
The riders will stop for the night
in Peachtree City, before heading
on to Savannah Saturday.
NASCAR driver Kyle Petty began
the ride in 1994, when he and
four friends rode their motorcycles
across the country to a NASCAR
event in Phoenix, Arizona. Before
the group had reached their des
tination, 30 riders had joined in.
The event continued the next year,
with the focus turning to charitable
causes.
The main beneficiary of the
event in recent years has been the
Victory Junction Gang Camp in
Randleman, N.C. The camp was
founded by Kyle and Pattie Petty,
in honor of their son Adam, who
was killed on the racetrack in a
2000 accident.
The camp works to enrich the
lives of children with chronic or
life-threatening illnesses. The
Pettys recently announced plans for
a second camp in Kansas. 2007’s
charity ride raised enough money
to allow 80 children to attend the
camp free of charge.
For more information, visit the
Charity Ride website at www.
kylepettycharityride.com. For
more information on the Victory
Junction Gang Camp, visit www.
victoryjunction.org.
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