I had a really busy second half of the week and even though it was stressful, it was a load of fun. ZB had a huge project due Thursday. A report on a Great “African-American” for Black History month. He had to hand write the report, give an oral report in class, and also dress up as the person or have photos available. It counted for both a Social Studies grade and a Language Arts grade. He chose Wendell Scott, the first black Nascar driver, as his subject. We spent a lot of time working on it, and I grumbled under my breath about it. In the end, it was worth it, and I was so proud. He got an A.
Here it is, if you’d like to read it:
Wendell Scott was the first Black stock car driver in America and the first African American driver in Nascar. He was born in Danville, Virginia in 1921. He was 14 when he started to drive. He drove his mother to church and to the store every weekend.It was illegal for him to drive at age 14. When he was young, he was a moonshine runner. Mr. Scott was almost arrested once and stopped being a moonshine runner after that. Other jobs he had when he was young were as a mechanic and taxi driver.
He drove jeeps for General Patton during World War II. After he got out of the Army, he married his best friend, Mary. They had six children. Scott began to race in 1947. His family was his pit crew because he couldn’t afford a pit crew. No one else wanted to be on his pit crew because he was African American. He won $50 and came in third at his first race. He went on to win many races in the Nascar lower divisions.
Even though he won a lot, he still didn’t get paid much. This was due to discrimination because he was black. He couldn’t eat inside restaurants or rent motel rooms for himself and his family. Drivers would try to force him off the track.. No one would sponsor a black man either. Wendell Scott had lots of hard times but still raced, and raced. He moved up to the Nascar Grand National division in 1961.
Two years later, in 1963, he won the Grand National in Jacksonville, Florida. That made him the first and only African American to win a Nascar race. He had to argue his win which was given to Buck Baker. Wendell won by two laps. Nascar officials didn’t want him to be the winner because of how the white crowds would react. He never got the real trophy, but he was declared the winner after all. In 1973, Wendell retired from racing because of a near death car crash. He had one win and 147 top ten finishes in his career. The movie “Greased Lightning” was based on his life.
Wendell Scott never made a lot of money racing, but earned respect and admiration from other racers and fans. Some of the awards he received include induction into the National and International Sports Hall of Fame. He worked hard and did his best even when other people didn’t believe in him or want him to succeed. With the support of his family, Wendell Scott made racing history and black history. He died in 1990 of spinal cancer.
