Wendell Scott Decals On Cars At AMS

Hampton, March 6, 2010: NASCAR Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series vehicles will carry a special commemorative decal honoring Wendell Scott’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start on March 4, 1961.

Wendell was a racing pioneer, becoming the first African-American to win a race in NASCAR’s premier series on Dec. 1, 1963.

“This is enormous for our family in so many ways,” Sybil Scott said. “(My father) would want the young drivers coming up today to be inspired.”

Ryan Gifford, one of the Drive for Diversity participants, visited with Scott’s family earlier this year for the reality show Changing Lanes, and he said the experience humbled him.

“It really showed me what he went through to open the door for someone like myself,” Scott said. “I couldn’t be more grateful.”

And that’s what Sybil Scott hopes her father’s true legacy is: creating opportunities for future minority drivers.

“Daddy’s legacy is through the diversity program,” Sybil Scott said. “The doors are open pretty wide right now, I feel very strongly.

“I can only look at these drivers and think of how my dad would be their greatest fan. He would be out there encouraging them and would want others to be supportive. That’s how to keep Daddy’s legacy alive.”