Thomas S. Baldwin Sr. (March 14, 1947 – August 19, 2004) was an American

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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Modified race driver. Originally taught racing in East Patchogue by Michael Andreano (“Patchogue Flash”), Baldwin would go on to compete for 40 seasons, winning 6 modified races as well as numerous other races. His 11 wins at

Riverhead Raceway Riverhead Raceway is a oval race track with a Figure 8 course, located in Riverhead, New York. It is the only auto racing venue on Long Island since Westhampton Raceway closed down in 2003. It started being built in 1949 and opened as a dirt ...

spanned from June 30, 1978 to June 6, 1992. He was given the "Most Popular Driver" award on the Modified tour for 2003. He died in an accident on lap 10 of the New England Dodge Dealers 150 at the

Thompson International Speedway Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP), formerly Thompson Speedway and Thompson International Speedway, is a motorsports park in Thompson, Connecticut, featuring a asphalt oval racetrack and a road racing course. Known as the "Indianapolis ...

on August 19, 2004. He spun into the infield to miss another competitor's car and struck a concrete block protecting a light pole driver's side first. He had a daughter, Tammy, and a son,

Tommy Baldwin Jr. Thomas S. Baldwin Jr. (born October 27, 1966) is an American team majority owner of Tommy Baldwin Racing and Competition Director of Rick Ware Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. His father, Tom Baldwin, was a champion modified driver. Baldwin hi ...

, who was a crew chief and is now a car owner in the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

. A memorial golf outing and a 77-lap memorial race (at Riverhead Raceway) are run in his honor

Tommy Baldwin Racing Tommy Baldwin Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the modified ranks. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, and is owned by former crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr., son of the late modifie ...

(run by his son) also switched when available to No. 7 (with a "7NY" design) to honor his father.

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

Craftsman Truck Series

References

External links

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Memorial tributeComments by son on his death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Tom 1947 births 2004 deaths People from East Patchogue, New York Sportspeople from Brookhaven, New York Racing drivers from New York (state) NASCAR drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Connecticut