Wendell Oliver Scott (August 29, 1921 – December 23, 1990) was an Americanstock car racing driver from Danville, Virginia.
He is the only black driver to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup
Series. According to a 2008 biography of Scott, he broke the color
barrier in Southern stock car racing on May 23, 1952, at the Danville
Fairgrounds Speedway. The book, "Hard Driving: The American Odyssey of
NASCAR's First Black Driver," by Brian Donovan (Steerforth Press), says
that after gaining experience and winning some local races at various
Virginia tracks, Scott became the first African-American to obtain a
NASCAR racing license, apparently in 1953, although NASCAR does not
have the exact date. The book says that Scott's career was repeatedly
affected by racial prejudice and problems with top-level NASCAR
officials. However, his determined struggle as an underdog won him
thousands of white fans and many friends and admirers among his fellow
racers.
