NASCAR has been around since 1948, born from the enthusiasm of drivers who moved bootleg whiskey through the country in the years of prohibition. Like many other drivers, Wendell Scott had run moonshine in stock cars that were souped-up to outrun the police. He began to race on tracks in his home state of Virginia but was consistently turned away from the NASCAR circuit because of his race. As his reputation grew, Scott managed to talk his way into a NASCAR license and became the first African-American to win a Grand National event when he took the checkered flag in Florida in 1963. It took two years for NASCAR to finally acknowledge his win and another 47 for his family to receive the trophy – 20 years after Scott’s death. This pioneer of stock car racing had 496 Grand National starts, finishing in the top ten 147 times.
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Wendell Scott
NASCAR has been around since 1948, born from the enthusiasm of drivers who moved bootleg whiskey through the country in the years of prohibition. Like many other drivers, Wendell Scott had run moonshine in stock cars that were souped-up to outrun the police. He began to race on tracks in his home state of Virginia but was consistently turned away from the NASCAR circuit because of his race. As his reputation grew, Scott managed to talk his way into a NASCAR license and became the first African-American to win a Grand National event when he took the checkered flag in Florida in 1963. It took two years for NASCAR to finally acknowledge his win and another 47 for his family to receive the trophy – 20 years after Scott’s death. This pioneer of stock car racing had 496 Grand National starts, finishing in the top ten 147 times.
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