NASCAR Legend James Hylton Remembers Racing Pioneer Wendell Scott

MEMPHIS TN (August 31, 2009) - The Virginia Museum of Modern History, located in Martinsville Va., will host Wendell Scott Appreciation Day on September 12, 2009.  The event was organized to both honor Scott and encourage NASCAR to recognize him in their Hall of Fame, which opens in May 2010 in Charlotte.  Stock Car racing legend James Hylton is the only driver in the active ranks that competed with Scott during his NASCAR career.

On October 7, 1973, Wendell Oliver Scott would compete in the final race of his NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National / Sprint Cup career at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s National 500.  The 52 year old veteran Scott would be making his final start in an unfamiliar mount, a 1973 Dodge Charger owned by Las Vegas dentist Lawrence “Doc” Faustina.  A few months earlier, Scott had been involved in a spectacular crash at Talladega’s Winston 500 and destroyed his primary superspeedway car, a 1971 Mercury Cyclone. “That was the biggest wreck I had ever seen” stated fellow competitor James Hylton “the whole backstretch was covered in destroyed cars and Wendell’s was by far the most damaged.”   Scott sustained three broken ribs, a lacerated arm and a cracked pelvis in the 21 car pile-up on Talladega’s 4,000 foot long backstretch.  It was in keeping with Scott’s determined character that he would climb back into a race car so soon after enduring such a horrific wreck.

The capacity crowd at Charlotte Motor Speedway was treated to a memorable event as Cale Yarbrough battled Richard Petty door handle to door handle for 270 grueling laps.  Yarbrough and his Kar-Kare / Junior Johnson Chevrolet Malibu bested Petty’s STP Dodge Charger by less than 2 seconds.  Finishing 12^th would be Scott in his Dodge with Inman S.C.’s James Hylton finishing one spot back in 13^th.  Hylton and Scott were both natives of Virginia; Scott was born in Danville while Hylton was born 150 miles to the northwest in Pearisburg. “Wendell and I were both born in Virginia” stated Hylton “he won the state championship in 1959 and was your typical hard charging Virginia racer.” During their Grand National / Sprint Cup careers, Hylton and Scott competed against each other on 259 occasions. 

There is perhaps no other driver in NASCAR history that endured more hardships and struggles than Wendell Scott.  When Scott began his storied racing career, segregation was still prevalent in most parts of the country.  In 1953 Scott made history as he became the first African-American to obtain a NASCAR competitor’s license.  “Wendell Scott was a steady racer and never made a big deal about the race issue” stated Hylton “he was a good guy and good friend”.  Scott, a former moonshine runner, ran on local tracks in Virginia until moving to NASCAR’s Grand National / Sprint Cup series in 1961.  On March 4, 1961, Scott ran his first Grand National race at Spartanburg S.C., only a few miles away from James Hylton’s Inman S.C. home.  Scott drove his 1960 Chevrolet Impala to a 17^th place finish while Hylton was a crew member on the 7^th place finishing car of 1960 NASCAR Grand National / Sprint Cup champion Rex White. “Rex White had a lot of respect for Wendell and his accomplishments in racing” stated Hylton.

Since the late fifties, discrimination was slowing beginning to disappear, though little practical or legal effect was felt until passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  The lingering effects of discrimination would be evident when Scott captured first place in a NASCAR Grand National / Sprint Cup race at Jacksonville Fla. on December 1, 1963.  The track scorers had Scott two laps ahead of second place competitor Buck Baker but NASCAR officials did not award the victory to Scott.  The checkered flag instead fell to Buck Baker as he crossed the start finish line in his 1963 Pontiac.  Some racing historians state that NASCAR did not flag Scott the winner for fear of a riot. Hylton had a somewhat different view of the anticipated crowd reaction as he stated, “I never heard anyone boo Wendell at the track, if anything he was a fan favorite.  He was well respected by drivers and fans alike”.  Baker was awarded the trophy at the track but Scott was named the winner two days later after the correction of a “scoring error” by NASCAR officials.   

Scott would soldier on a full time basis in NASCAR Grand National / Sprint Cup competition until the 1971 season.  The consummate mechanic Scott would not fall out of the top 20 in driver point standings during the 1963 to 1971 time period. “Wendell was a great mechanic, he could fix anything” stated Hylton, “he always was able to get the best out of his equipment.”   During his career Scott competed in 495 NASCAR Grand National / Sprint Cup races and collected 20 Top-Five and 147 Top-Ten finishes to go along with his win at Jacksonville.  In 1977, Richard Pryor would star as Wendell Scott in the biographical film, Greased Lightning.  Scott died on December 23, 1990 at age 69.

During his career, Scott garnered a tremendous following due to his underdog status. Scott never obtained any material sponsorship and ran second-hand equipment throughout his career in NASCAR.  Scott’s legacy has continued to grow as newer generations of fans are made aware of his struggles. Hylton fondly remembers Scott as he stated, “Wendell always had his family with him at the track; the kids were polite and hard workers.  Wendell didn’t always have the best equipment but he always managed to get the job done with what he had.  He will forever be remembered”