Frank Scott, son of racing pioneer Wendell Scott, hopes the recognition his father received Friday in Danville, Va., will help in the push to add the only African-America driver to win a race in NASCAR’s highest classification to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Friday was Wendell Scott Day in Danville, where the ceremony included Scott’s restored No. 11 dirt modified car (as opposed to his customary No. 34 stock car) and the unveiling of a historical highway marker commemorating Scott’s 1965 win in Jacksonville, Fla. Scott’s wife Mary attended the ceremony with her children.
Scott, who posted 147 top-10 finishes in 495 career starts, was nominated to the NASCAR Hall of Fame last year but not inducted.
“As I reflect back, my mind goes to my mother,” Frank Scott said Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. “The fact that she was there to witness all of this … when the songs were being sung, she was singing along, clapping her hands, and that’s what’s important to us as her children.
“Hopefully, yesterday’s occasion will give more of a drive to get my father inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Hopefully, as more attention is given to his legacy, the things that he’s done to promote community relations throughout the South — and even throughout the country — people will realize that he deserves that. And we hope that my mother will be there for that occasion as well.”
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