Stock Car History Online | Don Hunter Collection

BUCK

Buck Baker pits his Ray Fox-owned Dodge during the 1964 Southern 500 at Darlington. After winning the event by two laps over runnerup Jim Paschal, Baker collected $21,230 for his efforts. Baker’s third Southern 500 win was also the last of his 46 career victories in Grand National (now Sprint Cup) competition.

“This is a tricky track,” the two-time NASCAR champion was quoted as saying in “Forty Years of Stock Car Racing: The Superspeedway Boom 1959-1964” by Greg Fielden. “I could run at 135 (mph) without straining, and I felt confident at that speed. I’m not a flashy guy. I don’t feel I have to blow everybody off the track to prove I can drive.”

On the track in the background is the No. 02 Mercury driven by Curtis “Crawfish” Crider, who eventually finished 11th in the event, 63 laps down. A native of South Carolina, Crider ran a total of 232 races between 1959 and 1965. His best finishes were a trio of third-place showings, each coming on tracks a half-mile in length or shorter.