VOLUME 58 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 14, 2021 P135
got older, we didn't always see eye to eye. But I
do believe I have a little bit of an edge on all the
other managers of the past. An ace in my pocket,
in a sense, is one of his lifelong best friends is
Corey MacDonald [Baylor's current tuner]. Corey
has worked for me since he
was about 12 years old. If I
didn't have this whole thing put
together with Corey, it prob-
ably would have been a little bit
different. With his relationship
and respect from me over time,
and lifelong best friends with
Corey McDonald, I think it has
worked out. Now he's Stew
Baylor. I never want him to lose
his personality because that's
what fans love. So, I'll never
ask him to lose that, but I will say from a manage-
ment standpoint, there's things that I do expect
from him, and he knows it."
Hawkins started slow, signing Baylor to a series
of four one-race deals at the end of the 2020 sea-
son to make sure things were going to work out.
Baylor won three of the last four races.
"Stew's Sherco deal was kind of going out and
I think at times he had been riding a Kawasaki
and other bikes, I don't even
know," says Hawkins. "He
reached out to Corey because
he was kind of getting to the
bottom of his bucket. He said,
'I need a ride. Do you think
Randy would hire me?' Co-
rey told him, 'Absolutely not.'
Corey came to me two weeks
later and he said, 'Listen, Stew
just talked to me. He's one of
my best friends. What do you
think?' I said, 'Let me talk to
him. Let's see what he's on.' At that point, I had
a conversation with Stew, and I said, 'We'll make
this happen. I want you to know, this is a one-race
deal.' He said, 'That's all I ask for is a chance.'
"I never want him to lose
his personality because that's
what fans love. So, I'll never
ask him to lose that. But I
will say from a management
standpoint, there's things that
I do expect from him, and he
knows it." —RANDY HAWKINS
Baylor (purposefully) looping his motorcycle across the finish
line—in first place, of course—has morphed into an expected
tradition at GNCC races. He took second in the GNCC title.
