Wendell Scott

1921-1990

American race car driver

Wendell Scott had a lot working against him in his career as a Grand National NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) driver. He was an independent driver racing against factory-backed drivers. This meant he never drove a new car, often buying last

year's cars from competitors. He drove without sponsorship, sometimes making the trip to a race hoping to win back the expense of traveling to that particular race. His biggest obstacle though was being a black man in a white man's sport. He was blocked from some races, denied the promised compensation at others, and was sometimes run off the track because of his skin color. Scott never let this stop him, and despite the odds stacked against him he was an excellent driver who often made a showing. He won 128 races in the lower Sportsmen division. In Grand National races, he finished in the top five twenty times and won once. Shav Glick reported in the Los Angeles Times the following quote from Scott, "Once I found out what it was like, racing was all I wanted to do as long as I could make a decent living out of it.… I'm no different from most other people who're doing what they like to do."

Learning How to Drive a Car

Wendell Oliver Scott was born on August 29, 1921, in Danville, Virginia. Early on he was interested in cars and owned and drove his own taxi. Around 1940 he met his future wife Mary. He went into the Army around 1942 and served in the 101st Airborne division until 1945. In 1943 he and Mary were wed. They began raising their family in Danville, eventually having six children.

The Army had trained Scott as a mechanic. His skill with cars, along with a natural mechanical ability led him to become involved in the trafficking of illegal alcohol. Scott explained to Larry Edsall of Auto Week, "When I was young, I … started hauling whisky.… We would buy it for 55 cents a pint at Danville and sold it for $1.10 at Charlotte. But I learned how to drive a car." Transporting whiskey required Scott to drive fast and keep his car in good running shape. He was somewhat notorious in the region for being able to escape capture. The police knew who he was though, and that eventually helped him get his start in stock car racing.

Around 1947, a race promoter was trying to figure out how to get more African Americans to the racetracks. His attempts to find black racecar drivers were unsuccessful so he went to the police. Glick wrote Scott's description of the events, "He went to the county police and they told him about this 'darkie' they'd been chasing through the mountains, driving awful fast. That was me." The promoter contacted Scott and invited him to race at the Danville Fairgrounds. Scott borrowed one of his old liquor cars that he'd sold because it was beginning to be recognized by the police. In his first race, Scott placed third and won $50. He was hooked.

Facing Down Racism

Scott dedicated himself to racing. In 1950 he made his first attempt to enter a NASCAR sponsored race. Because he had light skin, officials didn't recognize that he was black. But when he went to purchase the safety belt they had asked him to buy so he could drive, his race was recognized and he was told he couldn't participate. No reason was given.

During the next few years, Scott raced in what was known as the "Dixie Circuit." These were smaller tracks—less than a mile long—than those used for NASCAR races and were held throughout the South. In 1954, he was accepted into the NASCAR Modified Division. In those years he honed his driving skills and began winning races. He ended up winning around 127 races in these lower divisions. In 1959, he won a total of twenty-two races, including the Virginia State Championship. Scott felt ready to take on the Grand Nationals.

In 1961, Scott debuted in the Grand National, now known as the Winston Cup, at the Spartenburg Fair-grounds in South Carolina. In the beginning of his Grand National career he faced racism from officials, drivers, and crowds. Drivers in races would try to force him off the track. Inspectors would demand erroneous repairs, like fixing chipped paint, before letting him race. He was once disqualified from a race because his crew was racially mixed. Sometimes he was only allowed to have his wife in the pit to help him during a race. Crowds would often jeer at him.

Scott persisted. He finished in the top ten five times in 1961, earning $3,240. He never felt like he was there to make a statement. His only desire was to race cars. He eventually won over the trust of many other drivers who were in the same situation he was, an independent driver with limited finances working hard to stay in a sport he loved. He and his wife were always willing to help as best they could any drivers who were in distress.

Scott placed consistently throughout the '60s. In 1962, he had eleven top ten finishes and earned $7,000. By 1965 he was rated eleventh in the nation and that year won $20,000 in prize money. In 1964 he set a Grand National record for a 40th place starter. At the World 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Scott was able to go from his 40th place start and finish ninth. No other driver had ever done that. That same year, on July 20, Scott earned his only pole position start at the Grand National track in Savannah, Georgia.

Chronology

Awards and Accomplishments

One and Only Grand National Win

His greatest accomplishment came in 1963. Scott won his first and only Grand National race. Unfortunately, his victory was marred by tampering with the scoring that was most likely the result of racist intentions. The race wasn't an easy one for Scott to make. He was in debt and needed the money he could earn from this competition. He drove from Virginia to Jacksonville, Florida, to compete at the Jacksonville Speedway Park. Exhausted from the trip, Scott couldn't make the repairs he wanted on his car. Instead he removed the shock absorbers from each corner of the car. He told Edsall, "The track was so rough … but that way (single shocked) was just perfect. I lapped the field."

Scott started in fifteenth position and easily lapped all the other racers. He was coming up on his 200th lap, the final lap, and expected to see the checkered flag waving for his first place finish. The flag remained unmoved. Scott continued on for two more laps expecting the checkered flag to signal the end of the race and his victory. Instead, the flag waved for Buck Baker, who was two laps behind Scott. The judges awarded Scott third place.

The fanfare, including the trophy and a kiss from the beauty queen, all went to Buck Baker but Scott knew he had won and he argued his case with the judges. After the crowds had gone and the supposed clerical error corrected, Scott was awarded his prize money. Unfortunately, he did not receive the original trophy. Stories differ on what happened to the trophy. One story relates that it went home with Baker, another that the trophy was stolen. Whatever the case, Scott ended up with a wooden statue that does not contain any information about his placing, the date, or the race. He did however get the money. He told Edsall, "I needed $900-some dollars to pay my bills.… I got $1000 for winning … and $150 for racing on Goodyear tires. But I really didn't have Goodyears. I had recaps."

Scott continued racing for ten more years, ever hopeful that he would get a break. In 1966 he told Ebony, "I don't have too many wins in the Grand National … but I have a bunch of places and shows. With a little better equipment I know I can come out on top." Scott was always driving older model cars, often bought from other racecar drivers. It was never the car itself that helped Scott place, it was his skill as a driver and a mechanic.

Career-Ending Crash

Even skilled drivers can be involved in accidents, and Scott had his fair share. Sometimes he was able to fix the car and get back out on the track to finish the race. Sometimes even the best attempts failed. Scott was never injured seriously in a wreck until 1973 when he was involved in a multiple-car pileup at the Talladega Speedway in Alabama. The resulting injuries nearly killed him. He survived the crash despite fracturing his ribs, pelvis, both knees, and one of his legs. He also needed sixty stitches to close up a wound on his arm. The wreck forced Scott to retire.

After retiring, Scott worked full-time in the auto repair shop he'd opened around 1950. The money he made from racing and the repair shop helped him send all six of his children to college. In the late '70s, he served as a consultant for the film Greased Lightning, which was based on his life and starred comedian Richard Pryor. Unfortunately, Scott was diagnosed with spinal cancer in mid-1990, and succumbed to its effects on December 23, 1990, after six months in the hospital. In recognition of his importance to the racing community as well as the regard in which they held him a group of racers held a show featuring racing memorabilia and an auction to raise money to help pay for the costs of his hospitalization.

Greased Lightning

Released in 1977, Greased Lightning chronicled Wendell Scott's racing career from his days transporting moonshine to his astonishing success in NASCAR's Grand National races. The film starred Richard Pryor as Scott, Pam Grier as his wife, and Beau Bridges as Hutch, a former competitor who becomes Scott's close friend.

Scott served as a technical consultant on the film and was not impressed with the stunt car drivers. The film suffered from the same fate that often afflicted Scott in his career as a racecar driver—insufficient funds. Pryor is reported to have felt the proudest of this role than any other because of how Scott was able to further the cause of civil rights in the arena of sports.

The only hall of fame induction that Scott received while he was alive was into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame. Since his death, his commitment to racing and the adversity that he faced so winningly have earned him spots in national and international halls of fame. Although Scott didn't break NASCAR wide open for other African-Americans to enter, he did set an example of integrity and determination.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Ashe, Jr., Arthur R. A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete Since 1946. New York: Warner Books, 1988.

Periodicals

"Dixie's Daredevil on Wheels." Ebony (May 1960): 61.

Edsall, Larry. "The Speedways Remembered." Auto Week (February, 8, 1988).

Glick, Shav. "Motor Racing; Scott Was Pioneer, But Nobody Followed." Los Angeles Times (December 27, 1990): C7.

"Stock Car Racer Reaches Bigtime." Ebony (May 1966): 61.

Other

"Lester Looks to Future While Respecting Past."NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/2002/news/headlines/ct/07/18/loudon_pre/index.html (January 16, 2003).

"Pole Position, One Win Under Our Belts, A Tribute to the Legendary Wendell Scott." Black Athletes Sports Network. http://www.blackathlete.net/Motorsports/motorsports072902.html (January 16, 2003).

"Scott's Historical Win Highlights Florida Racing." NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/2001/NEWS/11/07/duskey_110701/index.html (January 16, 2003).

Sketch by Eve M. B. Hermann