35 Facts About Wendell Scott

Wendell Scott was the first African-American driver and team owner to compete and win in all divisions of NASCAR at its highest level.

Wendell Scott debuted in the Grand National Series on March 4,1961, in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Wendell Scott's career was repeatedly affected by racial prejudice including being poisoned and death threats.

Wendell Scott was born in Danville, Virginia, a town dominated by cotton mills and tobacco-processing plants.

Wendell Scott vowed as a youth to avoid such labor, and began learning auto mechanics from his father, who worked as a driver and mechanic for two well-to-do white families.

Wendell Scott married Mary Coles in 1943; they had seven children.

Wendell Scott was recruited for this purpose and participated in his first race at the Danville Speedway.

In search of more opportunities, Wendell Scott repaired his car with the help of a black mechanic, Hiram Kincaid, and towed it to a NASCAR-sanctioned event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Wendell Scott decided to avoid NASCAR for the time being and race with the Dixie Circuit and at other non-NASCAR speedways.

Wendell Scott won his first race at Lynchburg, Virginia, only 12 days into his racing career.

Wendell Scott ran as many as five events a week, mostly at Virginia tracks.

Wendell Scott began the 1953 season on the Northern Virginia circuit after winning a feature race in Staunton, Virginia.

Wendell Scott subsequently tied the Waynesboro, Virginia, qualifying record and won the Waynesboro feature race.

The Waynesboro News Virginian reported that Wendell Scott had become "recognized as one of the most popular drivers to appear here".

In 1954, Wendell Scott towed his racecar to a local NASCAR event at the Richmond Speedway and asked the steward, Mike Poston, to grant him a NASCAR license.

Wendell Scott's license was approved and he became the first Black driver in NASCAR.

Wendell Scott won dozens of races during his nine years in regional-level competition.

Wendell Scott achieved the most points for a debutant in 1961.

Wendell Scott passed Richard Petty, who was driving an ailing car, with 25 laps remaining for the win.

Wendell Scott was not announced as the winner of the race at the time.

Buck Baker, the second-place driver, was initially declared the winner, but race officials discovered two hours later that Wendell Scott had not only won, but was two laps in front of the rest of the field.

Wendell Scott continued to be a competitive driver despite his low-budget operation through the rest of the 1960s.

In 1964, Wendell Scott finished 12th in points despite missing several races.

Wendell Scott finished 11th in points in 1965, was a career-high 6th in 1966,10th in 1967, and finished 9th in both 1968 and 1969.

Wendell Scott was forced to retire due to injuries from a racing accident at Talladega, Alabama, in 1973, although he did make one more start at the 1973 National 500 in which he finished 12th place.

Wendell Scott achieved one win and 147 top ten finishes in 495 career Grand National starts.

Wendell Scott died on December 23,1990, in Danville, Virginia, having suffered from spinal cancer.

The film Greased Lightning, starring Richard Pryor as Wendell Scott, was based loosely on Wendell 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 1986 album, Frenzy.

Wendell Scott was inducted as a member of the 2000 class of The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum located in Portsmouth, VA.

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

Wendell Scott is prominently featured in the 1975 book The World's Number One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book, written by Jerry Bledsoe.

In January 2013, Wendell Scott was awarded a historical marker in Danville, Virginia.

Wendell Scott was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 30,2015.

Loosely based on him, a fictionalized version of Wendell Scott was given a minor role in the 2017 Pixar film Cars 3.