11/15/36 - 4/17/03
Houston, TX
Cup Starts: 85 (1962 - 1993)
Best Finish: 5th twice, most recently @ Darlington Raceway,
Darlington, SC (9/4/72)
Bailey's first taste of success in NASCAR's top division came in 1965. After starting 6th in the first 125-mile qualifying race at Daytona, H.B. was able to keep his Pontiac among the leaders to finish 5th. Back then, qualifying races paid points so that finish was recorded as his first career NASCAR top 5 finish. The following week, he backed up his good run in the qualifying race with a solid 12th place finish in the Daytona 500. H.B. started only three more races that year, but finished in the top 10 two more times. He finished 6th in the Southern 500 at Darlington then notched an 8th place finish at Charlotte.
H.B. continued to run occasionally on the NASCAR Grand National circuit through the rest of the 60's. He was one of the few competitors who continued to compete in General Motors cars despite no factory backing. His red and white #36 Pontiacs became the trade mark of his career. Bailey ran no more than four races until 1969 when he would make six Grand National starts. H.B. captured his fourth career top 10 finish with a 10th at Daytona in July.
Bailey's focus turned towards the fledgling NASCAR Grand American Series in the early 70's. He won a Grand Am race at Nashville in 1971 and sat on the pole for the series' race at Daytona in 1972. That year, H.B. finished second in points to Wayne Andrews. 1972 also saw Bailey score his most impressive finish in his Cup career, a fifth place in the Southern 500 at Darlington. Unfortunately, Grand Am series never caught on and NASCAR abandoned the division in 1973.
As the sport of NASCAR grew, so did the cost of racing. Like many other independent drivers, Bailey found it hard to stay competitive with the factory-backed teams who also had major sponsors. That did not stop him from trying. Bailey continued running Cup races sporadically into the early 90's In the mean time, he started competing in the less expensive ARCA Series where he scored a fifth place finish at Michigan in 1991. Bailey made his final Cup Series start in the Southern 500 at Darlington in 1993. He attempted several races in 1994, but failed to qualify for all of them. H.B. made history in August of 1994 when he became the first driver in a stock car to make a qualifying run at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the innagural Brickyard 400. He continued running in ARCA and the Winston West Series throughout the 90's and made his final attempt at NASCAR at Texas in 1997. Bailey was to qualify for the innagural race held at Texas Motor Speedway but the field was set by points after qualifying was rained out.
H.B. Bailey retired from racing in 1998 after suffering a stroke. Sadly, he succombed to heart failure on April 17, 2003. Bailey was a three-time member of the Darlington Record Club. He was the ultimate underdog, the kind of driver fans liked and could relate to. He will be remembered for his hard work and perserverence.
