Bill Baird (racing driver)

Bill Baird (born July 26, 1949) is an American race car driver. He currently competes in the Ultra4 Racing Series in the #5252 buggy. He is a former Rookie of the Year and champion of the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde stock car Series, and owns Saturn Machine, a steel equipment manufacturer.

William Baird
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1949-07-26) July 26, 1949
Sturgis, Kentucky
ARCA Racing Series
Years active1997-2010
Starts70
Wins6
Poles8
Best finish1st in 1999
Championship titles
1999ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series
Awards
1998ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Rookie of the Year

Early career

Baird, an Air Force veteran, originally began as a stunt pilot hobbyist before later switching to racing in 1987. After starting on dirt oval tracks, he switched to pavement racetracks and competed regularly in the American Speed Association ACDelco Challenge Series.[1]

ARCA career

Baird debuted in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series in 1997, driving the #52 for Ken Schrader Racing with sponsorship from Saturn Machine and Spee Dee Pop Popcorn. He made four starts, with his best finish coming in his debut at Daytona International Speedway, where he started third and finished fourth. He made his first full-time bid at the ARCA championship the following season, winning two pole positions and nine top-ten finishes, on his way to a fourth-place position in the points standings and the ARCA Rookie of the Year award. In 1999, Baird ran a full-time schedule for the second time, with additional sponsorship coming from Valvoline Eagle One, Baird won his first five races and the overall points championship.

The next season, Baird cut down to a part-time schedule, this time driving the #52 as an owner/driver. He made six starts and garnered three top-ten finishes, including a 2nd at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. He also attempted the Pennsylvania 500 and Brickyard 400 in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series that season, but failed to qualify for both events. Following 2000, Baird reunited with Schrader but only attempted a handful of events in the ARCA series each year. He won an additional race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2004, his final career ARCA victory to date. His most recent start in the ARCA series came in 2010 at Talladega Superspeedway, where he finished 27th after wrecking halfway through the race.

Post-ARCA career

In 2011, Baird purchased an Ultra 4 Buggy from Campbell Enterprises, racing the rest of the 2011 Ultra 4 Series in preparation for the 2012 Griffin King of the Hammers. He was named the Ultra 4 Series Rookie of the Year that same season.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series
NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 NWCC Pts Ref
2000 Baird Motorsports 52 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC
DNQ		 SON DAY NHA POC IND
DNQ		 GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL NA - [2]

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ARSC Pts Ref
1997 Baird Motorsports 52 Chevy DAY
4		 ATL SLM CLT CLT POC MCH SBS TOL KIL FRS MIN POC MCH DSF GTW SLM WIN CLT
26		 TAL
20		 ISF ATL
26		 NA - [3]
1998 Ken Schrader Racing Chevy DAY
22		 ATL
34		 SLM
17		 CLT
38		 MEM
5		 MCH
8		 POC
10		 SBS
11		 TOL
27		 PPR
2		 POC
3		 KIL
11		 FRS
14		 ISF
22		 ATL
23		 DSF
2		 SLM
2		 TEX
2		 WIN
25		 CLT
35		 TAL
10		 ATL
11		 4th 4880 [4]
1999 DAY
8		 ATL
1		 SLM
1		 AND
16		 CLT
11		 MCH
7		 POC
3		 TOL
2*		 SBS
1*		 BLN
2*		 POC
3		 KIL
22		 FRS
1*		 FLM
3		 ISF
1*		 WIN
3*		 DSF
2		 SLM
2		 CLT
5		 TAL
18		 ATL
7		 1st 5920 [5]
2000 Baird Motorsports Chevy DAY
21		 SLM
7		 AND
29		 CLT KIL FRS MCH POC TOL KEN BLN ISF
2		 KEN DSF
3		 SLM CLT TAL ATL 34th 1005 [6]
T.R.I.X. Racing 79 Chevy POC
17		 WIN
2001 Ken Schrader Racing 52 Chevy DAY NSH WIN SLM GTY KEN CLT KAN MCH POC MEM GLN KEN MCH POC NSH ISF
DNQ		 CHI DSF
3		 111th 215 [7]
99 SLM
QL†		 TOL BLN CLT TAL ATL
2002 52 DAY ATL NSH SLM KEN CLT KAN POC MCH TOL SBO KEN BLN POC NSH ISF WIN DSF
18		 CHI SLM TAL CLT 137th 140 [8]
2004 Baird Motorsports 52 Chevy DAY NSH SLM KEN TOL CLT KAN POC MCH SBO BLN KEN GTW POC LER NSH ISF
1		 TOL DSF
2		 CHI SLM TAL 62nd 465 [9]
2005 DAY NSH SLM KEN TOL LAN MIL POC MCH KAN KEN BLN POC GTW LER NSH MCH ISF
12		 TOL DSF
9		 CHI SLM TAL 81st 355 [10]
2007 Baird Motorsports 52 Dodge DAY
12		 USA
37		 NSH SLM KAN WIN KEN TOL IOW POC MCH BLN KEN POC NSH ISF
34		 MIL GTW TAL
19		 TOL 55th 495 [11]
Hudson Motorsports 43 Dodge DSF
29		 CHI SLM
2008 Ken Schrader Racing 52 Dodge DAY
3		 SLM IOW KAN CAR KEN TOL POC MCH CAY KEN BLN POC NSH ISF DSF CHI SLM NJE TAL
26		 TOL 89th 215 [12]
2009 Chevy DAY
37		 SLM CAR TAL
2		 KEN TOL POC MCH MFD IOW KEN BLN POC ISF CHI TOL DSF NJE SLM KAN CAR 88th 265 [13]
2010 DAY
36		 PBE SLM TEX 99th 145 [14]
Toyota TAL
27		 TOL POC MCH IOW MFD POC BLN NJE ISF CHI DSF TOL SLM KAN CAR
† - Qualified for Ken Schrader.

References
  1. "ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Champion Bill Baird". Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
  2. "Bill Baird – 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  3. "Bill Baird – 1997 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  4. "Bill Baird – 1998 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  5. "Bill Baird – 1999 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  6. "Bill Baird – 2000 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  7. "Bill Baird – 2001 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  8. "Bill Baird – 2002 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  9. "Bill Baird – 2004 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  10. "Bill Baird – 2005 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  11. "Bill Baird – 2007 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  12. "Bill Baird – 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  13. "Bill Baird – 2009 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  14. "Bill Baird – 2010 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
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