NASCAR Cup Series

Remembering Wendell Scott's lone NASCAR win 51 years later

Published Dec. 1, 2014 2:00 p.m. ET

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On Friday, Jan. 30, 2015 Wendell Scott will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame along with the likes of Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Joe Weatherly, and Rex White.

Scott was an independent mechanic and driver that broke the racial barriers in NASCAR during the 1960s and 1970s. While Scott wasn't the first African-American driver to race in NASCAR, 51 years ago Monday he did become the first to win a race in what is now the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The Danville, Va., native earned his lone NASCAR victory at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Fla. on Dec. 1, 1963, but the owner/driver was not initially awarded the victory by the sanctioning body.

Scott started from the 15th spot and led 27 laps in the race, but as he drove his now famous No. 34 to the final laps, the official withheld the flags, instead waving them for driver Buck Baker, who was running second, two laps down. Baker went to Victory Lane and collected the trophy and kiss that went along with the celebration.

NASCAR officials blamed a scoring error as the reasoning for giving the win to Baker, but Scott felt he was denied the opportunity to celebrate in Victory Lane because the sanctioning body did not want an African-American kissing the white trophy girl.

Hours after the conclusion of the race, Scott was finally awarded the win.

Throughout his 13-year career, Scott had 495 starts, one victory, 20 top fives, 147 top 10s, and one pole position. Scott suffered multiple injuries during a 1973 race at Talladega Superspeedway and only raced once more after the incident. He passed away on Dec. 23, 1990.

In 2013, Darrell Wallace Jr. became just the second African-American driver to win a race in one of NASCAR's top three national touring series when he went to Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway, Scott's home track.

Wallace has become close with the Scott family over the years and drove a special No. 34 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Wendell Scott truck to victory at Martinsville, with Scott's family in attendance.

"This is cool and I'm so proud to have Wendell Scott's whole family here -- this is cool," Wallace said after his win this season. "It means a lot -- I know I had a guardian angel looking over me this weekend. To be able to put it in victory lane, you couldn't ask for a better weekend. You thought last year was special, but this definitely beats it."

VIDEO: Darrell Wallace Jr. honors Wendell Scott with Martinsville win