Elzie Wylie Baker, Jr. (born January 25, 1941 in Florence, South Carolina), nicknamed "Leadfoot" or more famously Buddy, is a former American NASCAR racecar driver.

Early life[link]

Replica of Baker's 1969 Dodge Daytona

Buddy Baker was born in Florence, South Carolina, the son of two time winner of the NASCAR Championship and a Hall of Fame member Buck Baker.^[1] Baker began his NASCAR career in 1959. In 1970, he became the first driver to ever exceed 200 mph (320 km/h) on a closed course. This feat was accomplished in the Chrysler Engineering #88 Charger Daytona, which is being restored in Detroit. The same year, with a victory at the Southern 500, he became the first NASCAR driver to win the same race at the same venue as his father. (Buck did it in 1953.)

Career[link]

During his career, Baker won nineteen races including the 1980 Daytona 500, NASCAR's most prestigious race. His victory remains the fastest Daytona 500 ever run, with an average speed of 177.602 mph (285.809 km/h).

Baker driving at Pocono Raceway in 1985

Baker is one of eight drivers to have won a Career Grand Slam, by winning the sport's four majors – the Daytona 500, Aaron's 499, Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500.; Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson are the other seven to have accomplished the feat. He is the only one of the eight to not win the championship.

He generally raced part-time, competing in every race in only three seasons. He owned a car with Danny Schiff from 1985 to 1989, and was instrumental in the career of Jimmy Spencer. He competed in two International Race of Champions series. His final race in NASCAR was in 1992.

Buddy currently helps run the Buck Baker Racing School with his brother. Buddy Baker was the first driver to exceed the 200 mph mark on March 24, 1970 on a closed course test run. His speed was clocked at 200.447 miles per hour (322.588 km/h); a record that stood for 13 years. That record was finally broken by the late Benny Parsons.

Commentator[link]

From 1991 until 2000, he became a television commentator on The Nashville Network and later (1994–2000) races produced by their World Sports Enterprises division, including CBS races. After the 2000 season Baker could still be heard on TNN, calling the American Speed Association races in 2001 and 2002 with Bob Dillner (their final race call was for the 2002 Winchester 400). During 2007, Buddy could be heard as the part-time co-host of The Driver's Seat with John Kernan on Sirius Satellite Radio's NASCAR channel 128. As of 2011, Buddy now the co-hosts Late Shift along with Jim Noble on SiriusXM's channel 90

Awards[link]

In 1997, Buddy Baker joined his father as an inductee in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama. He was inducted into the Charlotte Motor Speedway Court of Legends in 1995, and into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame inductee in 1997. He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• The Inside Groove.com – Historical Nascar Image Gallery
• Driver stats at racing-reference.info

William Caleb Yarborough
Born	(1939-03-27) March 27, 1939 (age 73) Timmonsville, South Carolina
Awards	1976 Winston Cup Champion 1977 Winston Cup Champion 1978 Winston Cup Champion IROC VIII (1984) Champion 4-Time Daytona 500 Winner (1968, 1977, 1983, 1984) 1993 International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee 1994 National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame Inductee[1] 1994 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Inductee 1996 Court of Legends Inductee at Charlotte Motor Speedway 1967 NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award[2] 3-Time National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year (1977, 1978, 1979) 1977 American Driver of the Year South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame inductee (1978) 1996 Talladega Walk of Fame inductee Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
560 race(s) run over 31 year(s)
Best finish	1st - 1976, 1977, 1978 (Winston Cup)
First race	1957 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last race	1988 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta)
First win	1965 untitled race (Valdosta)
Last win	1985 Miller High Life 500 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 83 319 70

William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough^[3] (born March 27, 1939), is a farmer, businessman and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships. He was the first NASCAR driver to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.^[4]

His 83 wins places him at number six on the all-time NASCAR winner's list (behind Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip, who are tied for fourth with 84).^[5] His 14.82% winning percentage is the ninth best all-time and third among those with 500 or more starts.^[6] Yarborough won the Daytona 500 four times; his first win coming in 1968 for the Wood Brothers, the second in 1977 for Junior Johnson, and back-to-back wins in 1983 and 1984.^{[7][8][9][10]} In 1984, he became the first driver to qualify for the Daytona 500 with a top speed of more than 200 miles per hour (320 km/h). Yarborough is a three time National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year (1977, 1978, 1979).^[11]

Beginnings[link]

Yarborough was born to Julian and Annie Yarborough in the tiny, unincorporated community of Sardis near Timmonsville, South Carolina, the oldest of three sons. Julian was a tobacco farmer, cotton gin operator, and store owner who was killed in a private airplane crash when Cale was around ten years of age. According to his autobiography Cale, Yarborough attended the second Southern 500 in 1951 as a young spectator without a ticket. Yarborough was a high school football star and played semi-pro football in Columbia, South Carolina for four seasons and was a Golden Gloves boxer. He made his first attempt in the Southern 500 as a teenager by lying about his age, but he was caught and disqualified by NASCAR. In 1957, Yarborough made his debut as a driver at the Southern 500, driving the #30 Pontiac for Bob Weatherly, starting 44th and finishing 42nd after suffering hub problems.^[12] He ran for Weatherly two years later, and finished 27th.^[13] In 1960, Yarborough ran one race, and had his first career top-fifteen, a fourteenth-place finish at Southern States Fairgrounds.^[14] He again ran one race in 1961, finishing 30th in the Southern 500 driving for Julian Buesink.^[15] In 1962, Yarborough ran eight races for Buesink, Don Harrison, and Wildcat Williams. He earned his first top-ten at the Daytona 500 Qualifying Race, when he finished tenth.^[16]

1960s[link]

Yarborough started 1963 without a full-time ride, but soon signed on to drive the #19 Ford for Herman Beam. His best finish was fifth twice, at Myrtle Beach and Savannah Speedway, respectively.^[17] He began the next season driving for Beam, but soon left and finished the year with Holman Moody, finishing sixth at North Wilkesboro Speedway, winding up nineteenth in points.^[18] The next season, he drove for various owners before picking up his first career win at Valdosta Speedway driving the #06 Ford for Kenny Myler, rising to tenth in the final standings.^[19]

Yarborough drove for Banjo Matthews at the beginning of 1966. Despite two consecutive second-place finishes, he left the team early in the season and ended the year driving the #21 Ford for the Wood Brothers.^[20] He won two races in 1967 at the Atlanta 500 and the Firecracker 400 for the Wood Brothers, but dropped to 20th in standings because he only ran 17 races^[21].. Yarborough also ran the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 and 1967 driving Vollstedt-Fords. After running the season-opening Middle Georgia 500 for Bud Moore Engineering, finishing 21st, Yarborough ran the rest of the season for the Wood Brothers, winning his first Daytona 500 in a duel with Lee Roy Yarbrough, the Firecracker 400, and his first Southern 500 garnering a total of six wins that season. Running a limited schedule, he finished seventeenth in points.^[22] The next season, he won his third straight Atlanta 500 along with the first NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway the Motor State 500 and six pole positions.^[23]

In 1969 Ford Motor Company produced a Cale Yarborough Special Edition Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II (and they also produced a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler). It was a white Mercury Cyclone (fastback) in white with a red roof and stripe. The Spoiler II was outfitted with a special aerodynamic front end. This was a limited edition homologation special that was made to satisfy the NASCAR 500-car minimum production regulations. There was only one engine choice available in the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II, a 351 cubic inch Windsor. (A very similar car was also produced by Mercury in 1969 as a white car with blue trim as the Dan Gurney Special.)

1970s[link]

Yarborough continued to drive a limited schedule for the Wood Brothers in 1970, winning his second consecutive Michigan 400 and the American 500 for the first time along with one of the Daytona 125 mile qualifying races and four poles.^[24] At the end of the season, Yarborough was released after Ford withdrew factory support for NASCAR teams. He drove four races in 1971, posting one top-ten in Daytona in the #3 Ray Fox-owned Plymouth.^[25] He also ran in the Indianapolis 500, finishing 16th in a Gene White owned, Firestone sponsored Mongoose-Ford. The next season, Yarborough ran five NASCAR races, his best finish coming at Michigan driving for James Hylton. He ended the season with two consecutive top-tens driving for Hoss Ellington.^[26] He also ran his final Indianapolis 500 in a Bill Daniels sponsored Atlanta-Foyt, finishing 10th. Yarborough mostly focused on driving USAC races in 1971 and 1972. In 1973, Yarborough returned to NASCAR and ran every NASCAR Grand National race in a season for the first time in his career, driving the #11 Kar-Kare Chevrolet for Richard Howard. He won four races, including his second Southern 500, the National 500 and the Southeastern 500 at Bristol in which he led every lap, and had nineteen top-tens, finishing second in points.^[27]

Cale Yarborough's #11 Chevelle Laguna

In 1974, Yarborough won a career-high ten races, but lost the championship by nearly 600 points. Midway through the season, Yarborough's team was bought by Junior Johnson with Carling sponsorship. Yarborough swept both races at Riverside International Raceway, captured his fourth Atlanta 500, and his second consecutive Southern 500 and third overall.^[28] Despite his successful 1974 campaign, the team began 1975 without major sponsorship, and missed three races, before Holly Farms became the team's primary sponsor. He won three races, including sweeping the events at Rockingham, but dropped to ninth in the final standings.^[29]

The following season, Yarborough won nine races, including four in row late in the season along with the Firecracker 400, in winning his first career Winston Cup Championship.^[30] He repeated his nine-win performance in 1977, a season in which he finished every race and did not finish outside of the top-five during the last eleven races of the season, earning him his second championship.^[31] Another highlight of the season was his second Daytona 500 victory, earning him a cover appearance on Sports Illustrated, the first NASCAR driver so honored. He also scored two victories in IROC IV, finishing second in the standings. In 1978, his team switched to Oldsmobiles and received new sponsorship from 1st National City Travelers Checks. He matched his previous career high of 10 wins, including leading every lap of the Nashville 420, his fourth Southern 500 and first Winston 500 at Talladega, and won his third consecutive championship ^[32] (clinching it at the American 500). In IROC V he captured one victory, finishing fourth in the standings.

Yarborough began the 1979 season with Busch Beer sponsorship and getting into a fight with Donnie and Bobby Allison after the Daytona 500, when Donnie and Yarborough wrecked while racing for the lead on the final lap. This was the first NASCAR 500 mile race to be broadcast on live television in its entirety (through CBS Sports). The confrontation, and the exciting race that led up to it, are credited with starting the mass growth of NASCAR.^[33] Yarborough went on to finish fourth in the standings, winning four races, including the Coca-Cola 500 at Pocono Raceway and the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, one pole, and finishing third in the IROC VI standings.^[34]

1980s[link]

Yarborough won a career-high and modern-era record fourteen poles in 1980, captured six races including sweeping the events at Rockingham, and scoring wins at Bristol, Michigan, Texas and Atlanta. Yarborough barely missed out on his fourth championship in five years, losing the championship to Dale Earnhardt by 19 points.^[35] At the end of the season, Yarborough announced he was leaving the Junior Johnson team and would run a part-time schedule for the rest of his career. He was replaced by Darrell Waltrip. Yarborough won 55 races while driving for Johnson from 1973–1980, compiling an amazing winning percentage of 26.57 percent.

Yarborough competed in 18 races in the 1981 season in the #27 Valvoline Buick for M.C. Anderson, winning his fourth Firecracker 400 and his fifth Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta, finishing in the top-ten a total of six times.^[36] Yarborough competed in 16 races in 1982, winning three, including his hometown Southern 500 for the fifth and final time.^[37] He also ran the 24 Heures du Mans in 1981, finishing 13 laps before a crash ended the team's efforts.

1983 racecar

In 1983, Anderson closed his operation, and Yarborough moved to the #28 Hardee's Chevrolet owned by Harry Ranier, competing in 16 events. He won four races, including his third Daytona 500, his sixth Atlanta Coca-Cola 500, and swept both events at Michigan, along with three poles.^[38] In 1984 he repeated by winning his fourth Daytona 500, becoming the second driver to score back-to-back wins, the Winston 500 at Talladega, a race that featured 75 lead changes, and the Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500, along with four poles.^[39] Yarborough also captured the IROC VIII championship. In 1985 after his team switched to a Ford, he won his first Talladega 500 and scored his final win in the Miller High Life 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.^[40] He also finished eighth in the final standings of IROC IX.

In 1986, Yarborough won his final career pole at the Firecracker 400, and had five top-ten finishes.^[41] He scored a victory at Talladega during IROC X and finished third in the standings. In 1987, he left the Ranier-Lundy team and purchased Jack Beebe's Race Hill Farm team. Yarborough took the Hardee's sponsorship and began running the #29 Oldsmobile Delta 88 as an owner/driver, posting two top-five finishes.^[42] He ran his final season in 1988 in an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, entering ten races and posting two ninth place finishes.^[43] He retired at the end of the year.

Ownership[link]

During the 1988 season, Yarborough split time in the 29 car with Dale Jarrett, who had one top-ten finish in nineteen starts. Following Yarborough's retirement, Jarrett was named the full-time driver for 1989, as he posted two top-five finishes and finished 24th in points. Hardee's left at the end of the season, and was replaced by Phillips 66/TropArtic and Jarrett was replaced by Dick Trickle in the now #66 car. Trickle posted two top-fives and won his only career pole at Dover International Speedway, finishing 24th in points. Trickle began 1991 with Yarborough, but left after four races. Lake Speed took over as his immediate replacement, and had three top-ten qualifying efforts. Despite an eleventh-place run at the Busch 500, Speed left and was replaced for the duration of the season by Dorsey Schroeder, Chuck Bown, and Randy LaJoie.

Yarborough hired Chad Little to be his driver in 1992. After six races and no finishes better than 22nd, Little was replaced by Bobby Hillin, Jr. for one race, before Jimmy Hensley took over for the rest of the season, posting four top-ten finishes and winning Rookie of the Year honors. In 1993, the team switched to the #98 Ford Thunderbird with Bojangles' sponsorship and Derrike Cope driving. Cope had an eighth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway and finished 26th in points. Cope began 1994 with Fingerhut sponsorship, but after no top-tens, he was replaced by Jeremy Mayfield, whose best finish was a nineteenth at North Carolina Speedway,

The #98 car in 1997.

RCA became the team's new primary sponsor in 1995, and Mayfield had an eighth-place run at Pocono Raceway, finishing 31st in points despite missing four races. In 1996, Mayfield had two top-five finishes and won the pole at the DieHard 500. Towards the end of the season, Mayfield left to drive for Michael Kranefuss, whose previous driver John Andretti moved to the 98, finishing fifth at Martinsville Speedway. Andretti won the pole at Talladega again in 1997, and at the Pepsi 400, he led 113 laps and won Yarborough's only race as a car owner.

Despite the win and a 23rd place points finish, RCA left the sport and Andretti signed with Petty Enterprises. Yarborough signed Greg Sacks to drive his Thorn Apple Valley Ford in 1998, but Sacks suffered a neck injury at the Texas 500 and was unable to race for the rest of the year. Rich Bickle took his place, and had three top-five qualifying runs and a fourth-place finish at Martinsville. Bickle resigned to drive for Tyler Jet Motorsports and Thorn Apple departed due to financial problems within the organization. Due to the lack of financing, Yarborough originally closed his team up, but soon reopened and hired Rick Mast as its driver and car dealer Wayne Burdett as a co-owner. Despite having no primary sponsor, Yarborough and his team ran the full schedule, picking up short-term deals with Sonic Drive-In and Hobas Pipe. Soon after, Burdette left the team and the team signed Universal Studios/Woody Woodpecker as its primary sponsor. At the end of the season, Mast posted two top-tens and did not have a DNF all season, the second driver since Yarborough to accomplish that feat. Despite rumors of a second team with Michael Ciochetti driving, Mast departed for Larry Hedrick Motorsports and Universal left for Team Gordon. Yarborough attempted to sell the team to various businessmen, none of the deals going through. In January 2000, Yarborough closed the team until a buyer could be found. He sold the team in the summer of 2000 to Chip MacPherson, who debuted the new team at Lowe's Motor Speedway with Jeff Fuller, finishing 41st after suffering engine failure. Geoffrey Bodine ran the Pennzoil 400 later that year, but wrecked. The team soon disappeared from the Cup circuit.

Indy 500 career[link]

Yarborough made four career starts in the Indianapolis 500 beginning in 1966. His best finish was 10th in his last start in 1972.

Acting[link]

Two episodes on the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard featured Cale playing himself: "The Dukes Meet Cale Yarborough" (1979), and "Cale Yarborough comes to Hazzard" (1984).

He appeared in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace.

Legacy[link]

Yarborough was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, the Court of Legends at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1996 and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998).

In 2009, Yarborough was one of the 25 nominees for the first class to be inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, though he was not selected. In 2010, he was nominated for induction in the second class of the Hall of Fame, and again he failed to make the cut. In 2011, Yarborough finally was elected to the NASCAR HOF. A stretch of South Carolina Highway 403 through Timmonsville is named Cale Yarborough Highway in his honor.

Personal life[link]

In high school Cale Yarborough was a halfback, then played four years of semipro football and was offered a tryout with the Washington Redskins.

Cale Yarborough has been married to Betty Jo Thigpen since 1961 and they have three daughters (Julie, Kelley, and B.J.). He has owned Cale Yarborough Honda in Florence, South Carolina for over 25 years. He currently resides in Sardis, SC. Yarborough is not related to fellow NASCAR veteran Lee Roy Yarbrough.

References[link]

• Where Are They Now Article

External links[link]

• Drivers points at racing-reference.info
• Owners points at racing-reference.info
• Jayski Team 98 News Page
• Yarborough anticipates sale of team
• Yarborough Motorsports still afloat
• Yarborough calls it a day

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Bechtel, Mark. He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back: The True Story of the Year the King, Jaws, Earnhardt, and the Rest of NASCAR's Feudin', Fightin' Good Ol' Boys Put Stock Car Racing on the Map, Little, Brown and Company, 2010, ISBN 978-0-316-03402-9.
• Hinton, Ed. Daytona: From the Birth of Speed to the Death of the Man in Black, Warner, 2001, ISBN 978-1-61680-101-4.
• Menzer, Joe. The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation, Wiley, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-22869-2.
• McGinnis, Joe. They Call Him Cale: The Life and Career of NASCAR Legend Cale Yarborough, Triumph Books, 2008, ISBN 978-1-60078-051-6.
• Yarborough, Cale with William Neely. Cale: The Hazardous Life and Times of the World's Greatest Stock Car Driver, Times Books, 1986, ISBN 978-0-8129-1261-6.

DeWayne Louis "Tiny" Lund
Tiny Lund holding up his son Christopher prior to racing(circa 1971)
Born	(1929-11-14)November 14, 1929 Harlan, Iowa
Died	August 17, 1975(1975-08-17) (aged 45)
Cause of death	Racing accident at Talladega
Awards	1963 Daytona 500 Winner NASCAR Grand American division champion – 1968, 1970, 1971 Two-Time Daytona Permatex 300 Winner
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
303 race(s) run over 20 year(s)
Best finish	10th – 1963 (Grand National)
First race	1955 LeHi 300(Memphis-Arkansas)
Last race	1975 Talladega 500(Talladega)
First win	1963 Daytona 500(Daytona)
Last win	1966 Beltsville 200(Beltsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 3 / 5 *disputed 54 6

DeWayne Louis "Tiny" Lund (November 14, 1929 – August 17, 1975) was a NASCAR driver. He was ironically nicknamed "Tiny" due to his rather large and imposing size.^[1]

Background[link]

Lund started racing at a young age on a motorcycle, then moved up to midget cars and sprint cars.^[1] He served in the Korean War in the United States Air Force, and in 1955 decided to try stock car racing.^[1]

It is also noted that as an adult, Lund stood 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed about 270 lbs.

Debut[link]

Lund went south with a 1955 Chevrolet and competed in the Lehi, Arkansas, event, with sponsorship from Carl Rupert and his safety belt company. The race was dominated by Speedy Thompson and his Pete DePaolo-owned Ford. Lund qualified mid-pack but his event ended in an accident on lap 65. Lund's flipped end over end and his safety belt broke. He was bruised and had a broken arm.

For 1956, Lund teamed up with Gus Holzmueller, and their best result was a fourth-place finish at Columbia, South Carolina. Lund also ran a few events for A.L. Bumgarner. In 1957 Lund split between Bumgarner's Pontiacs and a Petty Enterprises Oldsmobile. With Bumgarner Lund nearly won an event at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds. He won the pole position, and was leading until a right rear axle gave out. Lund had two other poles on the season. Lund left Bumgarner and became a journeyman for 1958. He won a pair of pole positions at Gastonia and Hillsboro. In 1959 he fielded self-owned Chevrolets. Lund did not have major success, and he was rideless by 1963.

1963 Daytona 500[link]

1963 Tiny Lund/Wood Brothers NASCAR car or replica

In February 1963, Lund went down to Daytona shopping around for any ride. Lund's friend Marvin Panch, the driver for the Wood Brothers racing team, had an accident while testing an experimental Ford-powered Maserati sports car for the second Daytona Continental three-hour sportscar race (a precursor to the Rolex 24). Panch's car swerved out of control, flipped over and burst into flames. Lund ran into the inferno and managed to pull Panch out of the wreckage. For his actions, Lund was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Honor.^[2]

Panch, in hospital, asked Lund to race his car and Glen Wood agreed. He timed in fourth in individual qualifying trials, and finished sixth in the second qualifying race. Lund took the green flag from 12th on the grid.

The start of the race was delayed due to heavy rains, and then the first 10 laps were run under caution. As the green flag waved on the Great American Race, it was Fireball Roberts on pole and "Flying" Fred Lorenzen outside of him. Lorenzen led the race. Lund worked his way through the field. The Wood Brothers team had an ace up their sleeve – they planned to complete the race on one stop less than the field.^[2] Lund managed to take the lead very late in the race. Lorenzen passed Lund with 10 laps left to go, but Lorenzen ran out of gas and had to dive down pit road out of contention. Then Ned Jarrett made the pass on Lund for the top spot but with three to go he also ran out of gas. Lund's car ran out of fuel on the final lap, but he managed to coast home to win the 1963 Daytona 500.

Return to journeyman[link]

Lund's victory jumpstarted what had been a dead career. Lund stayed in the Wood Brothers Ford for several races after Daytona, and came close to another victory in the Southeastern 500 before his motor gave out. Marvin Panch returned and Lund was without a ride. Holman-Moody gave him a car for several big races at Atlanta, Daytona and Charlotte without success. For 1964 he was back to journeyman status. He hooked up with a series of lesser known owners before vaulting into the lead in the Columbia 200 before overheating. Late in the year, he settled in with Lyle Stelter and despite little success they continued their partnership into the 1965 season. With Stelter Lund got his second career victory in that year's Columbia 200, qualifying in fourth and taking the lead from Ned Jarrett before rains came and washed out the second half of the event. In 1966, he continued his partnership with Stelter. Lund was leading at Spartanburg before a differential failed and at Manassas before his engine blew up. Lund did win at Beltsville Speedway. Lund had 21 Did Not Finish (DNFs) that season.

For 1967, he teamed once again with Stelter for the majority of the year but it was with Petty Enterprises in the No. 42 Plymouth with which he had most of his success. Lund finished fourth in the Daytona 500 despite running out of fuel with a lap to go behind the Ford factory contingent of USAC star Mario Andretti and Fred Lorenzen, handing third to perennial independent James Hylton. Lund finished fifth in the World 600 in that same ride. He struggled in Stelter's Fords despite a promising run in Fonda, New York, where he qualified second and lead some before an axle broke. Lund and Stelter parted at season's end.

For 1968, he teamed with Big Bud Moore and his Mercury's. Lund also ran Moore's cars in the new NASCAR Grand American division designed for pony cars like Mustangs and Camaros. Lund finished fifth in the Firecracker 400 and a fourth in Rockingham highlighted his short Grand National season, but he won the Grand American championship. In 1969, he continued to race in the Grand American division and ran one Grand National race, guesting for Bill France, Sr. in the inaugural Talladega 500. The race was known for a driver's boycott over tire safety protests. Lund drove into the lead but his clutch packed in and he was classified ninth.

In 1968, Lund appeared as one of the race drivers in the racing scene of the MGM movie 'Speedway' which starred Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra.

Wins in Grand American races[link]

Along with his back-to-back Grand American championships in 1970 and 1971, Lund "won" two Grand National events in 1971 – the Buddy Shuman 100 at Hickory Motor Speedway, and the Wilkes 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway driving a Camaro Grand American car for Ronnie Hopkins. As the number of entrants for the fields were low, NASCAR allowed Grand American cars to fill out the remaining spots on the grid. Lund controlled the event at Hickory before falling into a win when Richard Petty had problems at North Wilkesboro. Neither of these victories were added to Lund's official win tally, as the legitimacy of whether or not Lund should have been considered a Grand National competitor in these events has been questioned. NASCAR had dictated that if a Grand American car won it would not be credited with the victory; first place points would not be awarded. Despite this, the wins were counted as constructors victories for Chevrolet and starts for Lund.

Greg Fielden and Peter Golenbock's "Stock Car Racing Encyclopedia" has credited Lund with the two victories, bringing his career total to five. This also has disputed the win total between Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip, both of whom are tied at 84. Allison had one win in such a race in a Grand American car, which he claims should put him one greater than Waltrip. This also would technically dispute Charlie Glotzbach, Richard Petty and Elmo Langley's win totals. If, as NASCAR did with other combined division races, wins were awarded based on classes similar to sportscar racing and regional series (K&N Pro Series currently), Petty would have a 201st win (in the same Grand American win for Allison), Langley a third win (1971 at Hickory; Lund in a Grand American), and Glotzbach a second win (1971 at North Wilkesboro; Lund in a Grand American) based on winning the Grand National class.

Death at Talladega[link]

After 1971, Lund began to fade from the Grand National limelight and moved to the new Grand National East Division (the replacement for the Grand American Series) and short track Late Model Sportsman (now Nationwide Series). Lund won the Sportsman season opener at Daytona twice and continued to rack up victories on short tracks that he had raced on as a youth. In 1975, he entered an A.J. King Dodge in the Talladega 500 as first alternate; when Grant Adcox's car was withdrawn from the event, Lund was in and after a short track event that Saturday was flown down in Bobby Allison's private airplane. The race was delayed a week by heavy rains but on August 17 the green flag was waved by Juan Manuel Fangio.

On the seventh lap, Lund and J. D. McDuffie collided on the backstretch; Lund and McDuffie spun down the track as it turned into chaos behind them. Rookie Terry Link was spun straight into the drivers' door of Lund's Dodge and Link's Pontiac exploded in flames. Two spectators in the infield climbed over the catch fence, and with help from driver Walter Ballard, pulled Link from his car and managed to revive him. Lund, however, was pronounced dead at the scene. Drivers in race were not informed of the tragedy.

Aftermath[link]

Buddy Baker was victorious in that Talladega 500 in a Bud Moore Ford but there was no celebration as he fell to his knees upon hearing of Lund's passing. Lund was survived by his family, Christopher DeWayne Lund.

Lund was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994, and in 1998 named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.

There is a Tiny Lund Grandstand at Daytona International Speedway, and in his hometown of Harlan, Iowa, there is a local dirt-track International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) Modified race, the Tiny Lund Memorial, with over 200 entries annually for this popular event.

References[link]

• Drivers statistics at racing-reference.info; Retrieved February 17, 2007

Eli Gold
Eli Gold in October 2006
Born	1953 Brooklyn, New York
Nationality	American
Occupation	Sportscaster Radio host Author

Eli Gold (born December 1953) is an American sportscaster. Gold is best known as the radio voice for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, along with Tom Roberts, as part of the Crimson Tide Sports Network since 1988. He has also been the host of NASCAR Live on the Motor Racing Network since 1982. He formerly anchored Arena Football League's coverage on TNN and NBC, and anchors National Football League play-by-play coverage on Sports USA Radio Network.

Biography[link]

Gold was born in December 1953 in Brooklyn, New York. He began his broadcasting career in 1972 as a weekend sports reporter for the Mutual Broadcasting System.

Ice hockey announcing[link]

His first specialty was announcing ice hockey for the Eastern, North American, Southern, American, Central, and the National Hockey Leagues. In the NHL, Gold announced games for the 1979–80 St. Louis Blues over KDNL-TV and was the radio play-by-play announcer for Nashville Predators during the 2006–07 NHL season.

Alabama sportscasting career[link]

Gold moved to Birmingham, Alabama to broadcast the Birmingham Bulls hockey team of the World Hockey Association. He created Birmingham's first local sports call-in show, Calling All Sports on WERC which became a staple of Birmingham sports radio for 20 years. He eventually rose to the position of Sports Director for what was then that market's ABC affiliate, WBRC where he anchored evening news sports segments and hosted "Sports Talk with Eli", a weekly call-in show. From 2002 to 2004 he hosted a daily sports talk show also called Calling All Sports on WJOX-AM in Birmingham.

Gold has also performed announcing duties for the Birmingham Barons AA baseball team and the UAB Blazers men's basketball team. He has been voted "Alabama Sportscaster of the Year" four times by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He has also won the same honor from the Associated Press and United Press International.

On August 30, 2011, Gold returned to the daily radio airwaves as co-host of a morning drive time (6am-9am CT) sports call-in show with former Auburn quarterback Stan White on WZNN in Birmingham.

NASCAR announcing[link]

In addition, Gold has worked with MRN Radio and TNN Motorsports as a lap-by-lap announcer of NASCAR races. He still, from time to time, can be heard on MRN's NASCAR broadcasts and remains one of the network's most recognized and popular voices.

According to NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace who also broadcasts NASCAR themed shows on SPEED Channel and St. Louis radio station KMOX-AM, Gold "is one of the most recognizable voices in NASCAR and in all of sports broadcasting."^[1]

Personal life[link]

Gold currently resides in Birmingham, with his wife and daughter. Gold is also a part owner of Nino's Italian Restaurant, which is located in Pelham, Alabama.

Books[link]

Gold's second book was released in August 2007 and is called Bear's Boys. The book focuses on thirty-six of coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's Alabama football players and explores where they are today and how Coach Bryant's lessons impacted them in their post-University Of Alabama days.

Gold's third book, "From Peanuts To The Press Box" tells his life's story. The story of the boy from Brooklyn, New York who went from selling peanuts at Madison Square Garden and now works in the press boxes and radio booths of America.

• Gold, Eli (2005). Crimson Nation: The Shaping of the South's Most Dominant Football Team. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers. ISBN 1-4016-0190-1. 

References[link]