The pilot who was denied a trophy and a kiss

Wendell Scott didn’t see the checkered flag fly after his lone victory at NASCAR. At the time, so-called ‘stock’ car racing didn’t get much media coverage apart from the ones that were held Daytona. The importance of success Scott within Speedway Park of Jacksonville, Florida, the third race of the 1963-64 season, took years to gain significance. But this is a milestone.

Scott I ran to win. Being African American was circumstantial for him, but not for the white ‘establishment’ that ran the NASCAR and he believed that if the public saw the white woman presenting the trophy kissing a black man on the podium, there would be protests.

War veteran and smuggler

Wendell Scott (08/29/1921) was born in danville, Virginia(final capital of Southern Confederate States in 1865) in a house surrounded by cotton fields and manufacturing factories. Scott he swore he would never do that job of enslaving an entire generation of African-American families.

He learned mechanics from his father, a driver and mechanic from two wealthy white families. He dropped out of high school, became a taxi driver and served as a mechanic in Second World War. He returned, married, built a repair shop, but the lack of confidence of an African-American and seven mouths to feed caused him to find another job that would give him some money.

Connoisseur of the back country roads and dusty roads of the counties of Pittsylvania and Caswell (North Carolina) at night served as a transporter of illegal whiskey. When the organizers of the race track Dixie They needed a black driver in the early 1950s to whiten their image and try to show it wasn’t a white-only sport, they asked the police if they knew anything. “Wendell Scott is the best,” they were told.

A place to grill

In 1951, he began racing his own cars on the circuit. Dixiethe lowest category, mainly on dirt tracks in Virginia and North Carolina. He won 128 races. He made a name for himself as much for his driving skills as for his skill in tuning cars. In 1959 he won the title of the year after winning 22 races.

Despite its success and growing popularity, the NASCAR he stubbornly refused to accept their requests to participate.

Scott He continued to compete until 1959 in the regional championship, earning dozens of victories. Shortly after, on March 4, 1961, he made his debut in Grand National Series in spartaburg, South Carolina. In a Chevrolet who bought the pilot Buck Baker, he won $50 for finishing in 17th place. At 39, he finally got his long-deprived chance to compete with the best drivers. He scored the most points for a rookie. Scott never had the benefit of significant patronage. If it is difficult for white drivers to find a sponsor, it is impossible for a black person.

The 202 turn of discord

Jacksonville is not a regular event for NASCAR within Grand National Series. They had to give 200 laps on the circuit. It’s the sixth time they’ve raced there and this will be the last. Richard Petty, who became the most successful driver in the history of NASCAR, he led it for 103 laps and seemed to be walking away from an easy victory when his steering broke due to track conditions. In Petty out, Scottwho drives a chevrolet belair he took the lead with 25 laps to go. When he crossed the finish line after 200 laps, the marshal did not wave the checkered flag. Another lap later and still no flag. Cross the line again Buck Baker back and jack smith in third place. The commissioners gave victory to baker.

Confusion appeared on the lap scorecards. Each team manually writes its pilots but, amid the chaos of breakdowns, noise and tension, it can easily be reduced. On the team card Scott there are 202. Buck Baker was first declared the winner of Jacksonville 200, and he went to victory lane and received the trophy. It took the stewards nearly two hours to realize that Scott was indeed the winner. Perhaps intentionally, those two hours were enough for fans, competitors and press to leave the circuit. Scott he received the $1,000 winner’s check, but there has been no victory lane ceremony, media interviews, photos with the trophy girl, or the trophy itself since Baker picked it up. He and his two mechanics loaded the car, packed their gear, and headed north, back to Virginia.

the missing trophy

The whereabouts of the winner’s trophy remains one of the biggest controversies in the historic achievement of the Scott. He obviously took care of it baker but it never appeared.

The trophy they gave him in the next race, at SavannahThis is not the original. No cover or any kind of inscription, as temporary. When he left the race, he returned to danville and he worked as a mechanic dying in 1990 without raising his voice. Scott’s family claimed a similar trophy ceremony for years. Finally, in 2021, the NASCAR A copy of the trophy was presented to the family, correcting the error in 1963.