1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi everyone, welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: where we uncover the remnants of history every day. Today 4 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: is August. The day was August. Wendell Oliver Scott was 5 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: born in Danville, Virginia. He would later become the first 6 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: black man to win a race in NASCAR's Grand National Series. 7 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,319 Speaker 1: Scott's father was a driver for wealthy white families, and 8 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 1: he worked on their cars. He learned a lot about 9 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,880 Speaker 1: auto mechanics from his father, though Scott's parents later split 10 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: up and he did not see his father for many years. 11 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: From a young age, Scott recognized the realities of segregation 12 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: and Jim Crow in the South. By the time he 13 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: was a teenager, he began taking jobs to support his family. 14 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: He worked at a drug store and he became a bricklayer. 15 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: But when Scott got tired of bricklaying, he started working 16 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: as a taxi driver and bought his own cab. Scott 17 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 1: soon became known for his speed as a taxi driver. 18 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: He earned that reputation with passengers and with police officers. 19 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: He got thirteen tickets in his time as a taxi driver. 20 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,680 Speaker 1: In nineteen two, Scott was drafted in World War Two 21 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,400 Speaker 1: and began serving in the Army's hundred and first Airborne. 22 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: His work was focused on maintaining vehicles. Two years later, 23 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: while he was on leave, he married Mary Bill Coles, 24 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: a woman he met while he was driving his cab. 25 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: They eventually had six children together. When World War Two 26 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: was over, Scott went back to Danville and began building 27 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: a business and mechanic work. While the business was successful, 28 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 1: he took on a partner who mismanaged their money. That 29 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,079 Speaker 1: partner eventually died in an accident that also caused their 30 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: shot to burn down. So Scott started bootlegging whiskey, but 31 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:19,920 Speaker 1: bootlegging was dangerous work. In nineteen forty nine, Scott regularly 32 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: watched races at the Danville Fairgrounds Speedway. The next year, 33 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: racing promoter Martin Rogers was looking to bring more people 34 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: to the races and decided to find a black driver 35 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: to increase publicity. He asked the cops which black guy 36 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: would be a good fit, and they suggested Wendell Scott. 37 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 1: So Scott borrowed a car he had used for running 38 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: liquor that he had since sold to his brother in law. 39 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: He loved his first race. He started out in the 40 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: Dixie Circuit and went on to do other races that 41 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: were not affiliated with NASCAR. In Virginia, he won a 42 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: race for the first time in June of nineteen fifty two, 43 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: and he continued on to win other races. Though there 44 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,959 Speaker 1: had been other black drivers before Scott, he was often 45 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: the only one at his events, and racism was still 46 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: rampant in the nineteen fifties in the US. People yelled 47 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: slurs at him and threatened his children. Plus he did 48 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:22,040 Speaker 1: not have sponsors, a paid pit crew, or a mechanic 49 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: besides himself. NASCAR, or the National Association for Stock Car 50 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: Auto Racing, was founded in nineteen Though he had been 51 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: rejected from entering NASCAR sanctioned races because of his race, 52 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: he entered his first one in nineteen fifty four. Scott 53 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: was the first black driver to be in a race 54 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: that was sanctioned by NASCAR. Scott was never able to 55 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: race in a new car because he could not afford 56 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: it and did not have sponsorship, but he built his 57 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: own cars and was successful in racing. Still, he was 58 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: frequently singled out as a black driver. Other drive vers 59 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: would intentionally wreck his car during races, inspectors would demand 60 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: unnecessary repairs before he could race. This discrimination continued despite 61 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: some support from William France Senior or Big Bill, the 62 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:19,159 Speaker 1: founder of NASCAR, and it caused Scott to make less money, 63 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 1: which had to go towards paying for his bills, gas 64 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: and car repair costs. Those Scott's cars were not as 65 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:30,839 Speaker 1: new and improved as the other driver's cars, he still 66 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:35,839 Speaker 1: performed will In his first NASCAR season in nineteen sixty one, 67 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 1: Scott made his first appearance in the Grand National now 68 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: called the Winston Cup in South Carolina. Two years later, 69 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: he won his first and only Grand National race. Scott 70 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: continued racing for several years, but in nineteen seventy three, 71 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,720 Speaker 1: he was involved in a crash at Talladega Speedway in Alabama. 72 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: He survived the crash, but fractured many bones in had 73 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: to retire from racing. After returning to work in an 74 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: auto repair shop and paying for his children to go 75 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 1: to college, he died of spinal cancer in After his death, 76 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,520 Speaker 1: Scott was inducted into several halls of fame, including the 77 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: National Sports Hall of Fame and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. 78 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: I'm eave Jeffcote and hopefully you know a little more 79 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. And if you 80 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,159 Speaker 1: want to learn more about Scott, you can in the 81 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: two part episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class 82 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: called Wendell Scott, Black Nascar driver in the Jim Crow Era. 83 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: You can find the link to that episode in the description, 84 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: and if you'd like to follow us on social media, 85 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: you can find us at t D I h D 86 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: Podcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Thanks again for listening 87 00:05:54,920 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: and we'll see you again tomorrow. For more podcasts from 88 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 89 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.