Wendell Scott became the first Black NASCAR driver to win a Grand National race, on December 1, 1963. To commemorate Scott’s legacy, his journey will be preserved in a series of Non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The series was developed by WorldwideXR and VueXR to showcase Scott’s life and profession within the community.
The Los Angeles Sentinel spoke with Warrick Scott, grandson of the legendary race car driver and David Steward II, partner in Wendell Scott Ventures, in an exclusive interview. They explained the creation of the digital footnote for the Scott legacy to live on.
Warrick emphasized the impact of knowing his grandfather, he said, “I had a good chunk of time with him [Wendell Scott] and he put a lot of profound knowledge in me during those years, I knew his legacy would be worldly acknowledged in the future.” He shared this his ‘Pop Pop’ always knew his legacy would be highlighted after the course of his life. Warrick made sure that vision would come true.
The collection will launch through a series of events. Kicking off the expedition was the live auction organized by Authentik Studios at The Wendell Scott Foundation’s annual Legacy Gala on February 12. Subsequently, there will be a wider rollout on March 6 with the premier NFT marketplace, Nifty Gateway.
NFTs are physical collector’s items that live digitally. Instead of receiving the physical collection, the buyer receives a digital file. They will have exclusive ownership rights.
Wendell Scott Ventures will create and sell a sequence of historic NFTs. The series will highlight Scott as the first African American NASCAR driver to win a Grand National race. The NFTs will incorporate an augmented reality (AR), that celebrates “the man who broke NASCAR’s color barrier.”
The AR memorabilia includes a three-dimensional replica of his first-ever NASCAR championship trophy (Jacksonville 200).
Scott 34 Racing created Wendell Scott Ventures, in conjunction with Lion Forge Animation (Hair Love) and Polarity. Together they are introducing Scott’s legacy to viewers through movies, TV series, docu-series, social media presence, and digital gaming.
As a leading Black-owned entertainment holding company, Polarity alongside Lion Forge Animation are led by Scott’s son, Frank Scott, and grandson, Warrick Scott. The NFT medium offers a new opportunity for the legendary driver’s narrative to educate, entertain, and survive as living historical artifacts.
The featured NFTs include:
- Special Edition Black History Month Icons; a digital 3D Augmented Reality Unlockable (Exact Replica) Asset
- Wendell Scott First Ever NASCAR Winning 1962 Chevrolet Digital Car; Scott’s home-modified 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air, which won the Jacksonville 200 and was supercharged with 409 cubic inch engine producing 380 horsepower. This 3D augmented reality asset can be converted to fit a variety of platforms, including the metaverse, phone, or a computer.
- Wendell Scott NASCAR Trophy; a digital 3D Unlockable Augmented Reality (Exact Replica) Asset
Scott faced discrimination throughout his life and career, which he nobly withstood. He grew passionate about cars through his father. Scott was banned from entering NASCAR races due to the sheer color of his skin, while having a background of serving his country as a mechanic in the segregated division, fighting in WWII.
As the first Black team owner, he spent nine years in the “Dixie Circuit,” a regional competitor to NASCAR, before he was granted a license to compete in NASCAR in 1953, definitively breaking their racial boundaries in this field of sports.
As a racecar driver, he would race 2-3 times a week, Scott won the Jacksonville 200 race 10 years later. The victory was overturned due to “clerical error, “but it was later reversed. A horrendous and almost fatal crash in 1973 ended Scott’s NASCAR career, after 496 races and 147 Top 10 finishes.
Scott passed away in 1990 due to cancer, he was admitted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015, making him the first Black person to hold that title in NASCAR history. Films in his honor include “Grease Lighting,” and he inspired the character “River Scott” in Disney’s animated movie, “Cars 3.”
Warrick shared fond memories of his granddad taking him to school, he stated, “He was my ride to school, we spent a lot of time just being grandfather and grandson. I remember everywhere that we went, someone would come up to him, asking for an autograph. But more importantly, I remember people would always share special moments or kind gestures that he had done—that’s what makes his legacy so powerful, beyond the racecar, he was humanitarian.”
Scott’s grandson reflected on what this digital collection represents, some of the key components include hope, diversity, and tolerance. “There’s no way during those times that he [Wendell Scott] would have survived if he didn’t know how to relate to people.
