Great Scott

PRESIDENT OBAMA had the NASCAR folks over to the White House on Wednesday. He wanted to fete Jimmie Johnson, the three-time winner of the Sprint Cup championship. And he wanted to celebrate the sport's place in the American character. "You know, it's fitting that you've all come here to the White House -- the American people's house -- because NASCAR is a uniquely American sport," the president said. But like many things uniquely American, NASCAR's history is troubled by race -- as the story of Wendell O. Scott attests.

Mr. Scott got his start in the sport the way everyone did in the 1950s -- by outrunning the cops while smuggling moonshine. Unlike anyone else, Mr. Scott was black. To read his story, as we did in the New York Times this week, is to marvel at his talent and tenacity. From officials to fellow racers and fans, NASCAR wasn't exactly welcoming. Mr. Scott was barred from competing at many raceways. When he was allowed to compete, he had to endure jeers from the crowd and sabotage to his cars.

More galling, Mr. Scott was robbed of victory by NASCAR officials. He handily won the Grand National contest in Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 1, 1963. Tradition held that the victor kissed the local beauty queen. But the idea of a black man kissing a white woman pushed NASCAR officials to do something unthinkable today: They not only cleared the scoreboard but refused to wave the checkered flag to herald his win. That honor went to second-place finisher Buck Baker, who got the big trophy. According to a retelling of the story on the NASCAR Web site, Mr. Scott was told hours later that he'd won the race. He was given a nondescript wooden trophy with no inscription.

From 1961 to 1973, Mr. Scott drove in 495 races. He finished in the top 10 in 147 of them, an amazing feat for a driver who lacked sponsors, a first-rate car and a top-tier crew. Mr. Scott's career ended in a 21-car pile-up at the Talladega Superspeedway in 1973. He died of cancer in 1990. To this day, Mr. Scott is the only African American to have won a race in the Grand National (now known as the Sprint Cup) series. In fact, black participation is no better today than it was in his day despite NASCAR's efforts at recruitment. Of the 125 regular drivers, only one is a person of color.

NASCAR is building a Hall of Fame in Charlotte. The first five inductees will be selected from a list of 25 names announced in July. Mr. Scott is not among them. Surely, he deserves to be honored.