2015 Hall of Fame Class: Wendell Scott

By Richard Tix

NASCAR Behind the Wall will take a short look at each 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee. These articles will be spread out in time until the 2015 Hall of Fame induction (mostly depending on how much free time I find). 


Now, I was not alive to watch each an every one of these Hall Inductees, in fact I only remember watching Bill Elliott while growing up but all of these drivers have earned there spot in the Hall of Fame one way or another.

Wendell Scott grew up Danville, Virginia and as a little boy he did not want to be another man stuck in the cotton mill or working with tobacco. Scott had wide eyes and wanted to achieve more out of his life, he wasn't ready to just settle as a mill man. He grew up learning from his father who was also fully indulged into cars and speed.

His father spent time driving and working on cars as a mechanic for a very wealthy white family and Wendell picked up on this and also took an interest. First, before his career in racing would start he would serve in the segregated Army in Europe during WWII. I wanted to make sure to fit this in being it's Memorial Day Weekend but also because some fans say he only got in on his race. The Hall of Fame is not all about stat's like wins and top 5's, but rather how an individual helped get the sport to its next level (It was said best here in a full article by Jerry Bonkowski). These inductees have helped the sport reach its popularity way more then a few fans who only criticize a sport they say the love (or used to love).

When Wendell came back from the War he continued his work with and around cars. He started his own auto shop and running moonshine like some of the first NASCAR drivers did. He also spent his free time going to the race tracks on weekend sitting in the blacks only section. I'm not sure that many folks sitting in the blacks only section every thought they would be down on the track one day racing.

Then the perfect time came for Wendell. The track at Danville did not make a ton of money at the races because the town did not have a lot of individuals with spare money to spend on a race. So, it was thought up to bring in a Negro driver to run against all the other white drivers at the track. They wanted a fast driver so the cops recommended Wendell because they knew him from eating his dust running moonshine.

It may have looked like a big break for his career, but it was anything but that. He fell in love as soon as he put his whiskey running car on the track but life was not easy for him. When we think of "gimmick's" in culture today we do not think of something as serious as throwing one man in the middle of a racing culture that couldn't hate him more and only for the reason that he has a different skin color. Just take one second to think about what you think about the early years of stock car racing diversity; their was none. It was a primarily white sport in the South where segregation was always an issue.

This was apparent when Wendell tried to go to a NASCAR sanctioned track the day after his first race and they told him he could not drive there. Then the next race he was told he could not race, but a white boy could run his car for him. Wendell just turned around and went back home, "he wasn't going to let no white boy run his car."

So Wendell decided to stay away from NASCAR races. So he primarily stayed in Virginia and races near home. Racial slurs and drivers beating and banging on his car happened often as many knew he wouldn't fight back. But after time fans and drivers began to notice he wasn't just a black man trying to make a statement. Other drivers saw another race car driver who just had an "itch" to race.

Next up was getting into NASCAR. Wendell knew it wouldn't be easy but he went to Richmond and asked Mike Poston for a NASCAR License. Even though breaking into NASCAR as an African-American man was tough once h got his license Bill Fance treated him like any other NASCAR driver.

Over time he won many races in lower NASCAR ranks and even some track championships but Wendell wanted more, he wanted to compete at the highest level. In 1961 he got his big break and then in 1963 he did something that no other African-American has done in NASCAR's top level, win a race. On December 1st of 1963 he won his first and only "Cup" level race at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, FL while driving a Chevrolet Bel Air that he bought from Ned Jarrett.

Wendell Scott finished his 13 year career with 1 win, 20 top 5's, and 147 top 10 finishes in 494 races in NASCAR's highest level. Most importantly he broke down the color barrier in an all white sport, in the south, during a very racial period in America. He gave drivers of any color the ability to not only dream, but make that dream come true about racing in NASCAR's highest level. If Wendell Scott isn't getting in on his driving or mechanical ability he should be in because of shear determination to succeed in an all white atmosphere while holding his composer to not fight back, but rather show everyone the talent he had in a stock car.


Some extra Wendell Scott Photo's:

Congratulations to Wendell Scott and his Family. Cherish his memory with this great accomplishment.