With a little more help from Lady Luck, there’s no telling how many Daytona 500 victories Buddy Baker might have accumulated.

From 1967 through 1983, Baker led at least one lap in all but one Daytona 500, and somehow only made one trip to Victory Lane. And yet, Baker’s name is rarely listed with the greatest drivers of that era.

Whether the reputation was deserved or not, Baker was considered a driver who was hard on his equipment. Eleven times, Baker failed to finish a Daytona 500 because of engine-related issues. But in his defense, several of those came in the closing laps, adding to his legend as one of the more star-crossed drivers in NASCAR history.

Baker showed up for the 1961 Daytona 500 as a 20-year-old rookie, driving as a teammate to father, Buck Baker, a two-time NASCAR champion. He finished 40th, 55 laps off the pace. He returned the next year in one of the family Chryslers, only to be sidelined with overheating problems. Blown engines put him out of the 1964 and 1965 races, and an oil leak in the 1966 Daytona 500 ended his day just 69 laps into the event.

A switch to Ray Fox’s Dodge operation in 1967 should have signaled a change in Baker’s fortunes, but mechanical gremlins continued to follow him there. He started ninth and led 11 laps before the engine let go on Lap 120. He had another car worthy of contention in 1968, but was caught up in a multi-car accident near the midway mark and finished 30th, despite leading 20 laps.

Baker returned to Daytona with a vengeance in 1969, winning the pole and finally making it to the finish in fifth place, two laps behind eventual winner LeeRoy Yarbrough. But Baker’s bad luck was back in force the next season. He qualified on the front row, finished second in his qualifier and was one of the odds-on favorites. However, ignition problems put him out of the race after 122 laps.

Petty Enterprises hired Baker as Richard Petty’s teammate for the 1971 season, and the move paid immediate results. Petty and Baker swapped the lead throughout the 1971 Daytona 500, with the King taking the lead for good 18 laps from the finish and pulling away for a 10-second margin of victory.

Baker returned in a Petty ride for 1972 and was moving steadily up through the field when the car of Walter Ballard was forced into the wall, then flipped directly into the path of Baker’s Dodge. He settled for 34th place.

Once again, Baker had a car capable of winning the Daytona 500 in 1973, only to have misfortune at an inopportune moment. Just like 1971, the race came down to a battle between himself and Petty, and the two swapped the lead during a series of green-flag stops. On Lap 144, Baker came down pit road for fuel and two tires. But Petty was able to pit under caution 10 laps later and get four new tires. Despite the handling advantage that Petty now had, Baker was able to keep Petty at bay for the next 25 laps before the King used a slingshot move to take the lead.

With no more than a dozen laps remaining, Petty pitted for just enough fuel to make it to the finish — and Baker followed suit one lap later. Now trailing by 4 seconds, Baker was gaining a half-second a lap on Petty’s No. 43 when the engine suddenly expired on Lap 194.

I just cannot get over the shock,” Baker said. “I feel like I’m still out there leading the race and that nothing has happened. It’s nauseating to think about what might have been and what really is. I had it won. I just don’t believe it.” For the rest of the decade, Baker’s luck was consistently bad. He led 46 laps of the 1975 Daytona 500 before the timing chain broke. In 1976, he led 28 laps before the engine let go on Lap

83. He finished third behind Cale Yarborough and Benny Parsons in 1977 and came into 1978 with high hopes that perhaps this would be the year.

Baker started 31st but with one of the fastest cars in the field, was able to get to the front within 60 laps. By Lap 160, he had nearly an entire lap on the rest of the competition. It seemed even Baker’s bad luck couldn’t stop him this time, as he made two unscheduled pit stops for cut tires, but both times was able to regain the lead. And with 10 laps remaining, it seemed like Baker would finally win the Daytona 500.

But the engine began to skip, and then the oil pressure started to fall. And with five laps to go, Baker’s car slowed, handing the lead — and the victory — to a surprised Bobby Allison.

“Late in the race, the engine was skipping and I could still outrun Allison,” Baker said. “Then the oil pressure needle started dropping and so did my heart. All of a sudden I felt like crying.” The 1979 Daytona 500 brought more heartbreak for Baker. He won the pole and led the first 15 laps before the motor let go, leaving him 40th.

Finally, in 1980, the fates aligned and Baker was able to break the jinx. He was dominant all day, setting a torrid pace and leading 148 laps — including all but one of the final 42.

“The Daytona 500 is our Super Bowl,” Baker said. “It’s the one I always have been shooting for. If I had to quit racing tomorrow, I now would feel as if I had had a good racing career.”

Having finally defeated his Daytona demons, Baker would go on to finish fourth, eighth and third in his next three Daytona 500 starts, then add three more top-10 finishes later in the decade.
He finished 11th in the 1992 Daytona 500, his 28th and final start. He returned in 1994 but failed to qualify.