Wendell Scott the first black person to win the Grand National, NASCAR’s premier division on Dec 1, 1963 (ABC News 11 photo)
On African American Month: Remembering the Jackie Robinson of Auto Racing
That’s Amaujry News and Commentary
By Amaury Pi-González
February is observed as National Black History Month/African American Heritage Month in the United States. Wendell Scott became the first Black to win the Grand National, NASCAR’s premier division. He overcame racial barriers, persevered, and worked hard on his craft; today, he is the Jackie Robinson of car racing.
Scott made history on December 1, 1963, in a sport dominated by white men. In Jacksonville, Florida, Scott won the NASCAR premier division Grand National Series, a very prestigious race. He opened the door for other black drivers who competed in NASCAR, including Charlie Scott, Elias Bowie, Randy Bethea, Bill Lester, and Willy T. Ribbs.
Although Jackie Robinson’s historic year was 1947, when he broke the color barrier in baseball, it was in 1963 (16 years later) that Wendell Scott’s victory was effectively denied immediate celebration and recognition because of racism, with the win initially awarded to a white driver.
Prejudice and scoring “error” led officials to declare white driver Buck Baker the winner. However, hours later, after a review and significant pressure, Scott was confirmed as the rightful winner, becoming the first African-American to win a NASCAR premier series race. In plain English, they stole the race from him, but later they realized he was the legitimate winner.
In 2015, Wendell Scott was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. In 1977, the whole story was brought to the screen. The movie Greased Lightning is a biographical film starring Richard Pryor as Wendell Scott, the first African-American to win a race in NASCAR’s top division. The movie dramatizes Scott’s struggles against racism and his journey to winning the 1963 Grand National.
I have seen the movie, and Richard Pryor, famous for his comedic talent, does a great job in this dramatic biography. The cast is mostly Black, including Pam Grier and Cleavon Little. The film is directed by African-American Director Michael Schultz. The movie did not win any Oscars because, in the 1970’s, even Hollywood (which today talks plenty about inclusion)was still mostly in the closet when it came to racism, but Pryor’s performance is excellent.
It is weird to see a famous comedian like Richard Pryor as the lead for a movie like this, but he does the job and then some. Greased Lightning is not a movie that you will see on any channel on your television, but it ran recently on TCM -Turner Classic Movies, a channel always free of commercials.
They specialized in showing movies that most other channels would not, like Gone With the Wind, which, years ago, networks did not, however TCM (Turner Classic Movies) runs all the time. Although Hollywood talks a big game when they say they are for diversity and inclusion and all that, the truth is that racism and systemic inequality persist in Hollywood, despite ongoing efforts to diversify the industry; the industry has never been short of hypocrisy, and today facing a significant financial downturn, declining theater attendances, and high-budget box office bombs.
California is expensive for many production companies, and many have moved out of the Golden State to other parts of the country; some even head north to Canada to film more of their projects.
Quote: In his 2016 Oscars monologue, Chris Rock famously stated, “Is Hollywood racist? You’re damn right Hollywood’s racist. But it isn’t the racist you’ve grown accustomed to. Hollywood is sorority racist. It’s like, ‘We like you, Rhonda, but you’re not a Kappa.'”
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.
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