Baxter Price (born November 29, 1938) is an American racing driver from
Monroe,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
who competed in the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Winston Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...
. He made 90 Winston Cup starts from
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
to
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
, never recording a top ten.
Racing career
Price ran nearly the full
NASCAR Grand National East Series
The NASCAR Grand National East Series was a short-lived racing series created by NASCAR in 1972 to provide a second-tier series, below the Winston Cup Series, to provide races at tracks that had been removed from the former Grand National Series' ...
schedule in 1972, recording eleven top tens and finishing fourth in points. Coupled with a partial schedule in that series, Price ran his first
Winston Cup
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
race in 1973, and fell victim to an early crash at
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
. The ensuing pileup with
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...
left Price with severe burns.
He ran with limited success the next two years of his career, then hit double digits in the start category in 1976. Price attempted 26 of the 30 races in 1978, and finished 23rd in points even though he never hit the top ten. One race, he subbed for
Dale Earnhardt
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...
.
He found backing from Iron Peddlers in 1979 and continued to run races by the
Eastern seaboard, near his hometown. Price scaled back his schedule in 1980, still with sponsors, but NASCAR had downsized its wheelbases, mandating new cars. The final year of his career was in 1981, failing to qualify for the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
, retiring with mechanical issues at Richmond and running the final race of his career for
Jimmy Means
James Means (born May 29, 1950) is a retired American racing driver and owner, who competed in the Winston Cup Series as an owner-driver. He is currently an adviser for Front Row Motorsports and owns his own team, Jimmy Means Racing.
He compet ...
and his
Means Racing
Jimmy Means Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, fielding the No. 52 Chevrolet Camaro part-time for Harrison Rhodes, Gar Robinson, and Brennan Poole. It is owned by former driver ...
team,
starting and parking
Start and park is a term used in auto racing, particularly in NASCAR-sanctioned races, to describe the practice of racing teams starting races but pulling the car off the track after just a few laps in order to collect prize money while avoiding e ...
at
Texas World Speedway
Texas World Speedway (TWS) was a motorsport venue located in College Station, Texas.The track was one of only eight superspeedways of or greater in the United States used for racing, the others being Indianapolis, Daytona, Pocono, Talladega, ...
.
Price has the dubious distinction of being the driver with the most NASCAR cup starts to have never recorded a top-ten finish. His 90 starts is seven more than
Rick Newsom's 83.
His best finish was eleventh in the
1978 running of the
Virginia 500
The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 is an annual 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It had no name from 1950 to 1955, before taking the name Virginia 500 in 1956. It is the first o ...
(now Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500) at
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in s ...
. It has since been surpassed by
Cole Whitt
Cole Daniel Whitt (born June 22, 1991) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. After advancing his way through Kart racing, Whitt moved up to sprint cars and became a development driver for Team Red Bull. After running in the K ...
after the
2016 STP 500 at the same track Price achieved his best finish.
References
External links
*
1938 births
NASCAR drivers
NASCAR team owners
Living people
Sportspeople from Monroe, North Carolina
Racing drivers from North Carolina
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