Team Leader's Baker A Winner Off Track As Well

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway can be a humbling experience for even the biggest teams in the sport. Names like Penske, Rahal, Unser and Fittipaldi have missed the big show due to ill handling cars and motors that did not cut the horsepower mustard as well. One of the nicest guys in the sport came up a little short on Sunday and while it may have been due to a rather restrictive engine lease or just plain old bad luck, Kent Baker of Team Leader Car Racing demonstrated both class and dignity as the clock expired on his effort to place P.J. Jones in the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500. A veteran car owner who has fielded numerous entries at IMS for upwards of twenty years, Baker's off the track accomplishments are no less impressive. As a founder of The Care For Kids Foundation, Baker has made a tremendous impact on the lives of a large number of at risk children. The organization was founded in 1995 and provided a 10.8 million dollar renovation of the Marion County Childrens Guardian Home in December of 2001. Just last June, Baker led an impressive effort to errect a beautifully designed memorial at Crown Hill Cemetary to pay tribute to 699 children laid to rest there from 1892 until 1980 without a gravemarker. While Baker will not have a car in the 500 this year, he is clearly a champion in a far greater sense in terms of helping, protecting and recognizing children who are at risk and sadly in many cases forgotten. There can be no greater accomplishment in my opinion and while his team may not have registered highly on the speed charts at IMS this year, he is without question a permanent resident in the victory lane reserved for those who make the effort to enhance the lives of less fortunate children. Danny Bridges