An Oral History Of Black NASCAR Drivers

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Every major sport has a similar story when it comes to breaking the color barrier. NASCAR, like its stick-and-ball brethren, saw its first black athletes compete at the time of the Civil Rights movement. But unlike baseball, football, basketball, and even hockey, auto racing has not maintained the presence of those early drivers, remaining an almost exclusively white sport.

NASCAR has never had a black superstar. In 64 years of racing, the only cup series regular was a gritty independent named Wendell Scott, who raced in the '60s and early '70s. Scott's 495 starts dwarf the total of the five other black racers in NASCAR's history, who combined for only nine career Sprint Cup races between them.

While Scott didn’t achieve star status like Jackie Robinson, he made a name for himself in a sport traditionally ruled by good ol’ boys. His legacy may not be as visible today as you would expect, at least not yet. You would be hard-pressed to find a black racer in NASCAR’s top divisions, but that won’t be the case for long. For eight years, the Drive for Diversity initiative has been scouring short tracks across the country for minority talent, and the program's current crop of youngsters is poised for NASCAR stardom.

Early Days

1930s-1940s

Buz McKim, NASCAR Hall of Fame historian: There was a black racing organization in the Midwest in the ’30s and early ’40s called the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes. It was all black drivers. This was before NASCAR was founded. And it wasn’t stock cars. It was open wheel. Joie Ray was a driver that made his name in that circuit. He really paved the way for a lot of black drivers that were to follow.

There was also an all-black stock car racing organization in the late ’40s in the Atlanta area. That was where a driver named Charlie Scott came from. He was no relation to Wendell, but for a time we thought he was the first black driver in NASCAR when he drove in the beach race in Daytona in 1956. 

Elias Bowie was the first black driver that we can find in NASCAR. He was an interesting fellow from Oakland, Calif., who owned taxicabs. He went to a race at Bay Meadow Speedway in San Mateo in 1955 with a brand new Cadillac. He just had one spare tire that he carried in the trunk. Every time they pitted, his helpers would take the spare out of the trunk and they would replace whatever tire needed replacing. And he would use his directionals to signal to the other drivers when he was coming to the pits. He left all the lights on the car. Back then, all the drivers would take out all the lights or at least tape them over since you didn’t need them. He was a very successful businessman, and this was just something he wanted to try. 

Ken Squier, legendary NASCAR broadcaster: For black drivers it was very, very difficult. The color line was the same in the early days after WWII in stock car as it was in baseball. There weren’t very many of them. This sport came out of rural America. There was a lack of acceptance, but it wasn’t much different from how they treated black musicians. The economy was against them and the culture was against them. It was that way in colleges and universities. It was that way in pro sports. It was that way in racing. Racing wasn’t any different. 

Winston Kelley, Executive Director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame: The barriers facing those pioneers were the same ones the existed in America. Whether it was industries or communities that were not receptive to people that were different, particularly people of color. I did see a lot of people who were receptive to people like Wendell Scott and who helped him out. But by and large, there were barriers, whether it was from the fans or selective folks within the industry, as there were across America.

Wendell Scott Breaks The Color Barrier

1953

Squier: Wendell could pass for white. Around the racetrack, everyone knew him, and he gained respect over the years from the promoters and the drivers. Not all of them, of course, but many of them. They began to make equipment available to him. But on the road, from one place to another, it was some hard sledding. The fact that he ran as well as he did is an incredible story. 

The reason he got into racing was there were some promoters in Virginia that were trying to find an angle to get more publicity. They went to the sheriff and asked if there was such a thing as a black bootlegger. The sheriff said, “We’ve been chasing a guy named Wendell Scott for years and we can’t catch him!” They went and got a hold of him, and that’s what got him started. On the short tracks, he was really top flight, but he never had good equipment. It was hand-me-down stuff. And he ran it well. 

Kelley: Wendell was hands-on. He worked on the car himself, and he put everything into it. The common belief is that had Wendell gotten into equipment that was the caliber of the others that he could race with the best of them. He had much more talent than his equipment could show. 

Scott Fights Through Racism, Earns Respect

1950s

Frank Scott, Wendell’s son: The time frame that we were in the South racing in the early ’60s was during the demonstrations and the things that Martin Luther King was doing for our people. Things were going on in Montgomery and Birmingham, and we were actually racing in those cities. There was a time that Bobby Allison started beating up our car and stuff. He spun my dad out five times! When the race was over, he went directly to Bobby Allison and put his finger in is face and said, “Don’t you never (expletive) hit my car no more.” I remember a NASCAR official ran up to my dad and said, “Don’t you talk to Bobby like that!” He said, “(expletive) Bobby, and you too. And I meant what I said. Don’t hit my car no more.” When we were leaving the track, Bobby Allison handed my daddy three $20 bills and said, “Wendell, you’re a hell of a man.”

Wendell Scott, Jr.: I remember us getting a call that said, “If you come to the track tonight, we are going to kill your family while you are on the track.”

Sybil Scott, Wendell’s daughter: From a young age, the family did a lot of travelling with him. We were treated a little differently, but it wasn’t all bad. Racism was very alive. It was a sign of the times. Daddy always had to watch out for our security, while he also had to concentrate on racing to provide for our family. Daddy was the type of person that you could tell he was very sincere in what he was doing. I think that helped people who may have wanted to be part of the negativity from going in that direction. I will by no means deny that we did not run into some prejudice. There were times that he didn’t get appearance money that he was supposed to. It wasn’t all bad, but it was a rough road. He was of a lighter complexion and sometimes on the road he would go into restaurants and have to bring food out to us because we weren’t allowed inside. Independent drivers didn’t have it easy. Being an African American made it even harder for Daddy.   

Squier: I stood with a promoter one time. This was years and years ago in the Deep South. When this guy sees Wendell’s car coming in, he turned to me and said, “Let me tell you something, I don’t eat with no niggers, and I don’t sleep with no niggers. But that Wendell Scott is one hell of a race driver.” This guy got it that Wendell had broken through. But Wendell was the exception, not the rule. 

Wendell Scott’s Victory: Jacksonville, Fla.

Dec. 1, 1963

Frank Scott: They had him recorded as third place. He protested the finish and it took them several hours, and they came out and said, “Guess what, Wendell. You did win the race. We discovered an error. Your scorer didn’t record two of your laps.” The crowd was gone and everything, and they finally stepped up and did the right thing. My father said, “They thought I wanted to kiss that white beauty queen. But I got a beautiful wife. I can kiss my wife.” He wanted his money and recognition. His joy was taken away from him because of racism. He told NASCAR President Bill France some of the things that were going on and Bill told him, “You are a NASCAR driver. You are a member of NASCAR, and you will be treated as such.”

Sybil Scott: When daddy won that race in Jacksonville, I was in elementary school. I remember the night the call came in at home, I was playing hide and seek, and my mom was out. I will never forget. Daddy wasn’t a negative person, but he was very disappointed about the way it went down. My daddy wasn’t a dramatic person. He was frustrated at what he had to go through, but that was a sign of the times

Squier: Scott was a terrific human being. He loved the game so much that he played it against odds that were far greater than others faced. He persevered. By the end of his career, there wasn’t anyone that didn’t have respect for Wendell Scott, and he earned it the hardest way.

Willy T. Ribbs Arrives On The Scene

1978

Tom Higgins, reporter for the Charlotte Observer, 1964-1996: Willy came to NASCAR after racing in England, and none of us in stock car racing had ever heard of him. Charlotte Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler called a press conference in 1978, and none of us knew what it was about. Humpy walks in with Willy T. Ribbs and Harry Hyde, a crusty old crew chief. You could not have found an unlikelier pair. Humpy had always wanted an African-American driver. He said it was oil in the ground if he could find a good one to get the black community to start coming to races. He thought he found his man in Willy T. Ribbs. He was handsome, articulate, very funny-–almost like Muhammad Ali. Just one one-liner after another. 

They were going to set Willy up for a ride, and Harry Hyde was going to prepare the car. My phone rang a few nights later, and it was a sergeant with the Charlotte Police Department, asking if I knew Willy T. Ribbs. I said "yes," and they said, “he wants to speak to you.” I had just written a nice story about him in the paper and he says, “Well Tom, they’ve got me down here for going the wrong way down a one a way street.” I asked him if he needed a lawyer, or if he needed me to come bail him out. He said, “No, just thought you’d want to know.” He wanted it to be in the paper!

Of course, I wrote it, but in later years, I have found that Humpy Wheeler was one master promoter. He loved controversy, anything to get headlines. Willy was driving a speedway car with all the logos on it, a loaner car. Humpy put him up to that, I am sure of it. I would bet anything on earth he did. Willy actually outran the cops to Myers Park, an elite neighborhood in Charlotte. He went into the gymnasium at Queens College, and when the cops found him he was shooting baskets. They went to arrest him and he said, “No, I am a student here.” But the cops said, “Sorry, son, this school is all-girls and it’s all-white!”   

Willy T. subsequently missed two scheduled practice sessions for the 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Wheeler scrubbed his ride. It went instead to a young-up-and-comer named Dale Earnhardt.

McKim: Willy was involved with road racing and open-wheel cars. In fact, Bill Cosby supported him in the Indianapolis 500. He finally did make three starts in the Cup series in the 1986 season. He was a tremendously talented driver and a real interesting guy. He had a bravado, like his hero Muhammad Ali. I wonder how it would have been if he had decided to hang in there and try to make it in NASCAR.

Pro Athletes Get Involved

1990s

Brad Daugherty, NBA All-Star, NASCAR team owner, NASCAR on ESPN analyst: Some people think I just showed up one day and decided to go racing. But I’ve been around it all my life. I went Busch Series racing as a car owner in 1989 with my teenage friend Robert Pressley. We were the first rookie owner and rookie driver combination to win in the Busch Series. I got out of racing for a couple of years and then came back in the trucks in the late ’90s with the #98 team, with Kenny Irwin and Kevin Harvick for a couple of years. Had a lot of fun doing that. I stepped away from that and became a member of NASCAR’s rules and competition committee. I had an opportunity to work for ESPN’s racing broadcast, and I started doing that. But all along, I have wanted to go Sprint Cup Racing. In 2007, I partnered with the Geschickters, and we are entering our fourth year in cup, with Bobby Labonte on board for this year. 

A majority of the time, I was in the minority. There was always a small segment of people that had a problem with me at the racetrack. I never felt uncomfortable or threatened. I did feel out of place sometimes, being the only one 95 percent of the time. But I loved racing so much, I didn’t notice or didn’t care.

I helped start the diversity discussion with Brian France. We were sitting in my living room sometime around 1992 or 1993. We sat down, and I got a napkin out, and we outlined the diversity issues, perceptions and level of tolerance. When Brian became CEO of NASCAR, he laid the whole plan out.

Joe Gibbs, Hall of Fame NFL coach, NASCAR team owner: With me coaching the Redskins and Reggie White playing for Philadelphia, I had got to know him with him chasing our quarterback all over the field and knocking him all the way underneath our bench! When he came out of football, I already had a race team. He moved to Charlotte to retire, and we became friends because we are both Christians. I invited him to check out our race shop and do a little Bible study and things like that. He told me that he had a big interest in motorsports and that he would love to be an owner. We started to help any way we could, but it was hard to go straight into the Cup series. We had a big interest in diversity already at Joe Gibbs Racing, but we hadn’t put any horsepower behind it. Reggie and I had a conversation, and we decided to start a diversity program with Reggie as the owner. We would put the resources behind him so he could get his feet on the ground as an owner. He loved the idea, so we took off with the game plan that we would give kids with minority backgrounds a chance to drive race cars. We were going to start with a grassroots program, and right when we got going, we had the tragedy with Reggie’s passing. 

Marcus Jadotte, NASCAR VP of Public Affairs and Multicultural development: Brad Daugherty and Reggie White really were the foundation and a precursor for the Drive for Diversity Program. The development program that Reggie ran with the Gibbs organization developed drivers like Aric Almirola. Those guys were real pioneers. Brian France and Brad have a long-standing relationship, and their work helped to shape the diversity program as we know it.

JD Gibbs, President of Joe Gibbs Racing: It was heartbreaking when Reggie passed on. But we have been able to continue what that relationship was about by giving drivers an opportunity that they might not have otherwise had. We look forward to continuing it for many years. For kids to be able to say, “I can do that if he can,” that was our goal. To carry on what he started with Joe Gibbs Racing has been fun to watch. It shows that the sport is for everybody.

Joe Gibbs Racing Continued Involvement

JD Gibbs: A lot of credit goes to Reggie White. We did a combine in 2003, if I remember correctly. We brought in a lot of drivers and we worked with Aric Almirola, a Hispanic of Cuban descent, and a young African-American kid named Chris Bristol. Those were our first two guys, and they worked their way up. Almirola now has a Cup ride.

We looked at the NFL and other sports, and diversity just naturally happens. But here there are some barriers. Part of the process is knocking down barriers and giving guys a chance. And it’s easy for Cup teams to contribute, since we have the resources with Nationwide and East series teams. It is so expensive to field even a late-model car at your local short track. There’s a lot of cost involved in racing that you don’t have in other sports. You want to make sure you get the best talent, regardless of the color of your skin, and you have to perform. At the end of the day, if you are a good racer, people will respect you. What they don’t want to see is a guy getting a good ride in a car only because of the color of his skin. For the most part, fans appreciate if you are good at what you do and you work hard. Then they will pull for you.

Joe Gibbs: We kept the program going with a number of drivers, starting with Almirola and a few other drivers that moved on (like Chris Bristol and Marc Davis). But we gave them that opportunity. NASCAR has always been very supportive, even before they had an active program that they are now funding. 

When we get that breakthrough, it is going to be a huge plus for the sport. It will be a big publicity deal with a lot of attention, and it will really move the sport forward with a lot of excitement. We are continuing to work extremely hard to get to that point with our guys. When it hits, some sponsor is going to get a huge ride out of it. 

Bill Lester

Bill Lester, former NASCAR Truck Series and Sprint Cup driver, current Grand Am driver: I never got into racing to make a racial statement. I did it because I love racing. I started out in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) amateur road racing series in 1985. I made my first NASCAR Busch Series start on the road course in Watkins Glen in 1999. In 2002 and 2003, I raced in the truck series full-time with Dodge and Bobby Hamilton Racing before moving to Bill Davis Racing from 2004 to 2006. I also made my Nextel Cup (now Sprint Cup) debut in 2006 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. I made one more cup race at Michigan. And now I am currently racing in the Rolex Grand Am road racing series, where I was second in the championship last year.

I got into NASCAR because that was where the action was, plain and simple. It had the most excitement and exposure, where you could make a name for yourself. The spotlight was on me. That was a great thing and a bad thing. I did not want to be in it just because of my ethnicity. That wasn’t what my platform was. I didn’t get into racing to do that. But it came with a lot of attention. I realized that I excited a lot of people. I didn’t realize that my involvement at that level would galvanize so many people from ethnic backgrounds. I couldn’t tell you how many people reached out to me to congratulate me and tell me how much they supported me. 

The only pressure I feel is the pressure I put on myself to excel. I don’t feel pressure because of my race. I just feel exhaustion from talking about this topic. It will be great when your color isn’t the issue that people want to talk about. I view myself as a race car driver who happens to be black, not a black race car driver.

Kelley: Bill Lester has had more success in other forms of racing, and there are not a lot of drivers that have come from lighter sports cars or open wheel cars and been successful in NASCAR. Bill was an exceptional qualifier in the truck series and a solid, steady racecar driver. His finishes never seemed to equate to his qualifying efforts. 

NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity Program Founded

2004 

Jadotte: The launch of the Drive for Diversity program was tied to Brian France becoming CEO of NASCAR in 2004. The program really was a result of Brian’s leadership and a recognition that African Americans and Hispanics and females were significantly underrepresented in the sport. He saw an opportunity to grow as a key to invite a greater participation from those groups. The program does two things. It creates opportunities for talented young drivers that might not otherwise have an opportunity to follow their racing dreams in NASCAR. It also provides NASCAR an opportunity to develop relevant content for Hispanic, African-American and female sports fans. It lets us connect to a broader fan base.

The goal continues to be to provide young, talented kids the best opportunity we can to develop their talent. The best of those drivers will be invited into the program and have an opportunity to compete against talented drivers and demonstrate their own talent. Over time, that will have an impact on the make-up of the field in NASCAR’s national series. Ultimately, their talent will take them as far as it will allow them to go. We want to be a sport that is open to all, and to have the makeup of the sport that resembles that of the general population. This sport is more diverse than it has ever been. We have some real momentum. There is no question that some of the best-known development drivers right now are in the Drive for Diversity program. 

Max Siegel, Chief Executive officer and majority owner of Revolution Racing: It was monumental to have a sports industry make diversity a strategic business initiative. I don’t know of any other sport that commits those resources like NASCAR.

Lester: I am asked why there aren’t more drivers of color in motorsports. The reason is twofold, exposure and opportunity. The African-American community is just overwhelmingly exposed to stick-and-ball sports, but not motorsports. The other thing we need is opportunity. Minorities do not have the same access to capital as others do. Until that dynamic changes, minorities will continue to languish without a level playing field. The diversity program is a step in the right direction. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Had it not been for the Drive for Diversity, there are a lot of minority drivers that would not have had the opportunity that they have been given.  

Max Siegel Hired To Run Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

Siegel: I was Reggie White’s attorney and agent for many years. He asked me to partner with him to start a minority-owned team in the Sprint Cup or Nationwide Series. We did the research, and we found a team we were going to buy. Unfortunately, we lost Reggie a few weeks before we were going to close the deal. During the period when I was doing the research on getting involved in the sport with Reggie, I met all of the owners in the Sprint Cup Series. A couple years after Reggie passed away, I got a call from a firm that was looking for someone to lead Theresa Earnhardt’s company, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 

I’ve been in sports and entertainment for over 20 years, and we connected on how to expand the brand in the sport. She offered me the job of President of Global Operations at a time that Dale Jr. was contemplating whether he was going to stay or leave the company. I spent the next two years establishing a good relationship with Theresa, Dale Jr., his sister, Kelley, and trying to manage the integrity and legacy of the brand, as well as positioning the company for the merger with Chip Ganassi Racing.

I was then asked by NASCAR CEO Brian France to take over the Drive for Diversity program. Revolution Racing is the race team that operates the athlete development portion of the Drive for Diversity Program. Our job is to find minority pit crew members and drivers and prepare them to compete at the national touring level in NASCAR. 

Kelley: I don’t think Max Siegel’s ethnicity had anything to do with him coming into the role at DEI. I think Theresa Earnhardt thought he was the best candidate. He built up credibility by proving his ability in a number of areas. Anybody that comes into NASCAR from another industry has to do that. He is the perfect choice to run the diversity program.

Daugherty: What Max Siegel has done is remarkable. Even I didn’t understand how difficult it would be to get to this point. Racing can be so cost-prohibitive. You want to give people opportunities, but you have to make every dollar count, and that doesn’t always create opportunities for drivers to learn. You need someone who can step in and do the job right away. I applaud him. 

Drive For Diversity Program Revamped

2010

Jadotte: Initially, the program was mainly outsourced to late-model race teams across the country. It was geographically dispersed. A few years ago, we moved to an academy-style approach to driver development. All of the drivers are housed under the same roof at Revolution Racing, competing for the same team in balanced equipment in both the late-model series and the K&N Pro Series East. Those drivers also participate in a broader development program, including time with a sports psychologist, a workout regiment and a regular testing schedule. It’s now a comprehensive development program, instead of it varying by team. It has produced some really good results, highlighted by last season when Drive for Diversity participants winning 50 percent of the K&N East races last year with Darrell Wallace, Sergio Pena, and Ryan Gifford. 

Siegel: The success of Revolution Racing proves the concept that if you give people the appropriate resources, with talent and training, they can compete at a high level. The performance on the track demonstrates that our drivers have earned the opportunity to be there. We had three cars in the top 10 in the K&N East series points, and we almost won the championship in 2011. There are critics out there of the program, who may question whether or not these drivers deserve the opportunity. But their performance over the last two seasons has clearly demonstrated their talent.

Darrell Wallace Jr., Drive For Diversity Driver: You are at the racetrack nonstop. They give you everything you need to run up-front and get to that next level. My dad owns his own business, but it’s only enough to run a full season of late models. That’s a quarter of a million dollars just to run me in that. In the East series, you can spend $600,000 a year, and we just didn’t have the money for that. I would have just been sitting at home, or running late models without a sponsor, without the help from the diversity program. The sport is about money, money, money. If you don’t have it, then you don’t have a shot.  

JD Gibbs: To get track time is not easy. You can’t just go out and practice throwing a football or shooting hoops. You don’t know who is going to be a future star. But giving them seat time and experience is valuable, and it will pay off for the future of our sport.

Sybil Scott: I know people feel that things are moving slow still, but it takes time. I am proud of where they are now. I wish it’s something we could have started sooner. I give Mike Helton and Brian France their props. I feel good being able to witness what is going on right now. It’s bittersweet that this didn’t happen when Daddy could have witnessed it. He would really be pleased with where we are now.  

Darrell Wallace Jr.: NASCAR’s First Black Champion?

JD Gibbs: We knew Darrell was gifted. So there was an opportunity for a partnership with NASCAR’s diversity program. He was able to run the K&N East Series for two years with Revolution Racing. Now we are bringing him back to Joe Gibbs Racing to do some Nationwide races for us, as well as try to win a championship in the East Series. It’s been neat watching him from a young age, through high school, and now he is getting an opportunity to do more and be a lot more involved with the team. 

Siegel: Darrell is extremely mature for his age. He is an incredibly talented athlete and he works really hard. He has all of the ingredients. Darrell is 18 years old, and he’s got to continue to grow. With his parents’ support, and with his attitude, he has a very high likelihood of being successful and becoming a star.  

Darrell Wallace Jr.: The reason I got into racing was my dad bought a Harley-Davidson. The guy that fixed it up for him raced go karts, and he invited us to one of his races. My dad asked me if I wanted to try it and I said yes. That was when I was 9.

I moved to late models and won rookie of the year, and I got a call from Joe Gibbs Racing. We ended up signing a contract, but they didn’t have a ride ready for me, so they showed us the way to the Drive for Diversity Program. It looked good, and we had two successful seasons in the K&N East Series. I came up just short of the championship, but this year with Gibbs I hope to be a national champion in the NASCAR ranks.

Being able to run with these guys is outstanding. I also have six Nationwide series races on my schedule for this year. It adds some pressure. I’ve learned a lot, but I still have a lot to learn. The goal is to win a championship in the East Series and have some good runs in the Nationwide car, so I can go full time there next year, and then work my way to the Cup Series. 

I remember one race with my dad in my late model up in Virginia. I had won the race, and I was doing my victory lap, and I was getting the finger because of that. That kind of stuff just motivates me to win even more to prove I can do it. I am not out there because of my skin color, but because of my heart and passion that I have for it. I am trying to follow in the footsteps of what Wendell Scott passed on to us. Hopefully, I can go out this year and set the world on fire. 

Bubba Stewart: Supercross Superstar Switching To Stock Cars?

JD Gibbs: James Stewart is a phenomenal Supercross rider. My brother runs a Supercross team and he had an opportunity to talk to him and bring him to our program. We look forward to big things from James and our team in the future in Supercross and stock cars. In NASCAR, the crashes are violent, but you have the seat and the car to protect you. When you crash in Supercross, you hit the ground. It’s a brutal career. The careers are a lot shorter in Supercross and Motocross. In NASCAR, you can have a lot longer career, so in the future I think James will be looking at that as well. We did a test with James in a late-model stock car, and it was neat to see Darrell Wallace helping James figure it out. 

Darrell Wallace Jr.: James Stewart definitely showed me he is ready for it. We went to a track in South Boston, Virginia, and he learned the line really quick and really adapted to the cars well. He didn’t even stall it. I made a bet with the crew that he would stall at least twice. He was definitely on his game. It was cool getting to meet him. I have been a big fan of his. What he has done in motocross is amazing.