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
Nationality	American
Born	(1949-07-26) July 26, 1949 (age 75) Sturgis, Kentucky
ARCA Racing Series
Years active	1997-2010
Starts	70
Wins	6
Poles	8
Best finish	1st in 1999
Championship titles
1999	ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series
Awards
1998	ARCA 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.

External links

• Bill Baird Motorsports
• Bill Baird driver statistics at Racing-Reference