Review of "Hard Driving"

While I didn't finish this book in time to post my review for Black History Month, it's still a very good one and I am glad that I finished it cover to cover as the story of Wendell Scott as NASCAR's first Black driver is very compelling. Here is my review of "Hard Driving."

Title/Author:

“Hard Driving: The Wendell Scott Story” by Brian Donovan

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review: Most Black athletes who broke the color barrier in their respective sports are celebrated for their achievements, such as Jackie Robinson (baseball), Charlie Sifford (golf) or Althea Gibson (tennis).  Some are even well-known by people who are not sports fans.  However, the first Black driver in the history of NASCAR, Wendell Scott, does not have that same celebrity and his story should be told to more.  This excellent biography by Brian Donovan is a good place for that to start.

Something that makes Scott’s story a little different than those of other Black pioneers is that Scott’s sport of choice had its origins in the Deep South of the United States, where racism and discrimination was deeply rooted in the culture.  One ironic twist is that those roots of the sport, which came from moonshine running during Prohibition, was something that Scott did before deciding to become a racer. Like many other white drivers, he wanted to take the skills needed to transport illegal liquor into something that was legal and could be used to build a career.

Here, the Danville, Virginia native started to learn the deep-seated racism in the area and the sport.  He went in expecting issues, but the people and politics in the sport had deep pockets and hardline feelings. He had success in some of the lower levels of the sport on dirt tracks in Virginia and North Carolina, but when he moved up to the NASCAR Grand National series (today’s Cup Series), it was there that he found that he not only had inferior equipment, he had to encounter so many racial issues.

Just a small sampling of these include re-inspections that resulted in disqualifying his car so that he could not enter the race, barring from certain tracks like Darlington that would bolster his name so that he could gain rides from manufacturers like Ford or Dodge, and even promises that were not kept.  The best example of this, which is frequently mentioned through the chapters on Scott’s racing, is the promise made by Bill France Sr., the founder of NASCAR, that he would make sure that Scott would be treated like any other racer.  However, that fell short when France would believe it would interfere with his business or political interests.  It would be safe to say that France only believed in one color – green (money) – and he would not help a Black driver if he believed it would hurt business.

The book describes the character of Scott quite well, depicting him as a hard working man who would spend most of his life doing the one thing he loved – racing.  He and his sons were the ones who not only drove but put up the money needed (Scott mortgaged his house too many times to count), did all the work of building and repairing engines, chassis and car bodies and the long travel to tracks towing the race car.  While this was Scott’s life, it would not be that way for his sons, especially Wendell Jr. who ended up in prison for a stretch because of drug addiction and the crimes committed to feed that habit.  All is not lost for him, as by the end of the book, when his dad passes away, Wendell Jr has cleaned up his life and speaks to many about the dangers of that habit.

This review just scratches the surface of not only Scott’s life in racing, but the racial and political atmosphere of that time in the southern United States.  It is not a pretty picture and Donovan does a great job of accurately portraying that time and place without finger pointing or acrimony.  That doesn’t mean it is soft on the harsh reality of the racism in that period of NASCAR or American history – it’s a much-needed tribute to the determination of Wendell Scott to integrate that sport.

 

Link: Hard Driving: The Wendell Scott Story: Donovan, Brian: 9781586421441: Amazon.com: Books