Wendell Scott (left) became the first African American driver to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 30, 2015. Scott started racing in 1952 toward the end of the Jim Crow era, and was the first African American to win at NASCAR’s elite major league level.
Scott’s family served as his racing team. They traveled to speedways together from their home in Danville, Virginia, and his sons worked as his pit crew.
Wendell Scott died in 1990. One of his sons, Frank (above left), and his grandson Warrick (above right), sat down to remember him for StoryCorps. Watch “Driven,” Wendell’s story as a StoryCorps animated short.
Originally aired January 30, 2015 and February 3, 2023 on NPR’s Morning Edition.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Photo courtesy of the Wendell Scott Foundation.
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