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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. ILL CBEDIT accepted Beacon Built Piece By Piece On Your Land me CarringlOfl - 3 bedrooms. 2 baths, 2655 sit. It ioclud m g gar a g a an d f i ni sho d bo nus ro D m the Cooper - 3 bedrooms. 2 ballis, 1539 sq. ft. including garage S76B.77 Per month Ibe flOKlmra - 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2110 sq. ft including garage llie Berkshire - 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2421 sq. ft including garage Dawsonville Gainesville 355 Quill Drive, Suite 140, 406 Pearl Nix Parkway, Dawsonville, GA 30534 Gainesville, GA 30501 404-386-0323 404-386-0323 AmericasHDioePlace.com e America s#! On-Your-Lot Custom Home Builder, Established 1972. *Cafl oi Ydi! 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