Wendell Scott

Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = Wendell Scott | Birthdate = birth date|1921|8|28
Died = death date and age|1990|12|23|1921|8|28 |died of spinal cancerBirthplace = flagicon|USA Danville, Virginia
Best_Cup_Pos = 6th - 1964 (Grand National)
Cup_Wins = 1
Cup_Top_Tens = 147
Cup_Poles = 1
First_Cup_Race = 1961 Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds
First_Cup_Win = 1964 Speedway Park (Jacksonville)
Last_Cup_Win = 1964 Speedway Park (Jacksonville)
Last_Cup_Race = 1973 Charlotte Motor Speedway
Awards = inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1999)
Years_In_Cup = 13
Total_Cup_Races = 495

Wendell Oliver Scott (August 28, 1921 – December 23, 1990) was an American stock car racing driver from Danville, Virginia. He is the only black driver to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series.

Background

He initially worked as a taxi driver, and learned to be a mechanic in the Army during World War II. After returning home, he worked as a mechanic, and in the evenings sometimes delivered moonshine.

Early racing career

Scott began racing in 1947 on local tracks in hobby, amateur and sportsman classes. He met with gradually increasing success. In 1959, he won 22 races, the Richmond track championship and the Virginia state sportsman title.

NASCAR career

In 1961, he moved up to the NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) division. In the 1963 season, he finished 15th in points, and on December 1 that year, driving a Chevrolet Bel Air purchased from Ned Jarrett, he won a race on the one-mile dirt track at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida -- the first and to date only top level NASCAR event won by an African-American. Scott was not announced as the winner of the race at the time, presumably due to the racist culture of the time. Buck Baker, the second-place driver, was declared the winner until NASCAR issued a correction a few days later.

He continued to be a competitive driver despite his low-budget operation through the rest of the 1960s. In 1964, Scott finished 12th in points despite missing several races. Over the next five years, Scott consistently finished in the top ten in the point standings. He finished 11th in points in 1965, was a career-high 6th in 1966, 10th in 1967, and finished 9th in both 1968 and '69. His top year in winnings was 1969 when he won $47,451. [ [http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/halloffame/1999/Wendell_Scott_main.htm International Motorsports Hall of Fame ] ]

He was forced to retire due to injuries from a racing accident at Talladega, Alabama in 1973. He achieved one win and 147 top ten finishes in 495 career Grand National starts.

Legacy

The film "Greased Lightning" starring Richard Pryor was loosely based on Scott's biography.

Mojo Nixon, a fellow Danville native, wrote a tribute song titled "The Ballad of Wendell Scott", which appears on Nixon and Skid Roper's 1987 album, "Frenzy".

Scott has a street named after him in his hometown of Danville.

Only six other black drivers are known to have started at least one race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series: Elias Bowie, Charlie Scott, George Wiltshire, Randy Bethea, Willy T. Ribbs and, most recently, Bill Lester, who made the field for races at Atlanta and Michigan in 2006. Those drivers have made a combined nine Cup starts.

Scott had children, one of whom (Evangeline Sr) never actually met him even up to his death in 1990.

References