Wendell Scott was an American stock car racing driver as well as the first African American driver and team owner to compete and win in all divisions of NASCAR.
Scott was born in Danville, Virginia on August 29, 1921. Danville was a town dominated by cotton and tobacco and Scott vowed that he wouldn’t get involved with those industries. Instead, he learned auto mechanics from his father. As a kid, Scott raced bicycles against the white kids in his neighborhood. When he got older, he dropped out of high school to become a taxi driver. During World War II, he served in the segregated army as a mechanic. After the war, he ran an auto-repair shop and ran moonshine on the side.
In 1951, the officials at the Dixie Circuit, which was a regional racing organization, decided that they needed to recruit a Black driver as a marketing gimmick. Because of this, Scott was recruited and took part in his first race at Danville Speedway.
Liking what he partook in, Scott went in search of some more opportunities with Black mechanic Hiram Kincaid in tow. He found a race that was a NASCAR-sanctioned event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. When he arrived, the officials wouldn’t let Scott compete due to the color of his skin. A few days later he got the same results when he went to another NASCAR event. Realizing that NASCAR wasn’t going to let him race, he decided to stay with the Dixie Circuit and 12 days into his racing career, he won his first race in Lynchburg, Virginia.
After that, Scott would run as many as five races a week, predominantly at Virginia tracks. His fellow competitors would purposely wreck Scott. Scott didn’t let this stop him though, and he even gained a white fan base because of his expertise when it came to racing. This included other drivers who would act as his bodyguards in races where Scott would be targeted.
In 1954, Scott towed his car to Richmond Speedway, which was having a NASCAR event. Scott asked the steward to give him a license granting him access to race with NASCAR. The steward granted that request, making Scott the first Black racer in NASCAR.
On December 1, 1964, Scott became the first African American to win a NASCAR race, winning it on the half-mile dirt track at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida. Scott passed Richard Petty, who had a failing car, with 25 laps to go. Unfortunately, Scott wasn’t declared the winner of the race – Buck Baker was. The reason: he was Black. Even though they found out two hours later that Scott was indeed the winner and was two laps ahead of the entire field, they didn’t give him the win until later. His family never received the trophy he earned until 58 years after the race and 31 years after Scott’s death. Meaning he wasn’t fully honored until 2021.
Sadly, Scott passed away on December 23, 1990, due to spinal cancer. In 2015, Scott was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame posthumously and the movie Cars 3 created a career-based character.
In conclusion, Scott was a trailblazer for everyone wanting to go into motorsports no matter who they are. He is also the pinnacle of what it means to not give up. Scott is an inspiration.