Benny Scott
Encyclopedia
Benny Scott was a second-generation African American race car driver, a rarity in the motor racing industry. Scott's father, Bill “Bullet” Scott, inspired his son racing midgets in Southern California in the 1930s.
Mel Leighton, a Los Angeles-based African American racing pioneer whose career had begun before the Second World War, introduced Scott to Leonard W. Miller
, an African American businessman and president of Dynamic Programs, Inc., a manpower consulting firm in Trenton, New Jersey.
. Vanguard’s board of directors included Paul Jackson, president of Jackson & Sanders Construction Company, Sargent Shriver
, first head of the Peace Corps
and former Ambassador to France
, who was the Democratic candidate for vice president in the 1972 presidential election, Washington Redskins
defensive halfback Brig Owens
, and Richard Deutsch, chairman of the board of Harbor Oil Corporation.
Scott drove the Vanguard Formula A in a McLaren M10-A, powered with a 500-horsepower Chevrolet V-8 in the L & M Continental 5000 Championship and SCCA events. Drivers came from as far away as Melbourne, Australia to compete in Formula A. Scott won the CSCC-SCCA Southern Pacific Division Championship in 1972 with the McLaren M10-A.
Scott was featured in Champion Spark Plug’s first national print advertising featuring an African American driver, in a campaign that ran in several national magazines tilted “Fast Road to Indianapolis.” The ad showed Scott standing beside a Vanguard McLaren M10-A. Champion became a secondary sponsor for Black American Racers, Inc. and a charter member of the Black American Racers Association
(BARA).
BARA was created in 1972 by Leonard W. Miller, Ron Hines, Wendell Scott
, and Malcolm Durham. This organization blossomed into a nationwide membership of 5000, supporting all African American efforts in various categories of auto racing competition. BARA also served as a support network for Benny Scott’s extraordinary motor racing ambition in the aftermath of America's Civil Rights era.
In addition to Benny Scott, Vanguard Racing, Inc. fielded a white driver, John Mahler, in the 1972 Indianapolis 500. Vanguard’s concept was to use Mahler as a development coach and a conduit for Scott’s preparation for the Indianapolis 500 in subsequent years. However, many of Vanguard’s stockholders were so exuberant over the Indianapolis experience with John Mahler that they lost their patience to develop Benny Scott. As a result, they disbanded.
Scott achieved several podium finishes in Lola T-324 FSVs purchased from Carl Haas. His most memorable event was at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California on May 4, 1975, where he achieved pole position at 100.882 mph. He was the first driver ever to top 100 mph in a Formula Super Vee at Laguna Seca. In addition, he was the fastest driver during the entire weekend and bested his qualifying speed in the race at 101.111 mph. He was even faster than Germany’s legendary Hans-Joachim Stuck, who drove a BMW 3.0 CSL in another series. On the last lap of the race, approaching the finish line, Scott was beaten by inches by Freddie Phillips
in his Eldon Mk 14B. Other drivers who emerged from FSV included Howdy Holmes
, Bob Lazier
, and Bill Alsup
. All three qualified for the Indianapolis 500 in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
racing, competing at the same circuits with legends such as Al Unser
, Mario Andretti
, David Hobbs
, Brian Redman
, Jackie Oliver
, and Jody Scheckter
.
Scott’s most notable race in Formula 5000
was the inaugural Long Beach Grand Prix on September 28, 1975, where he qualified the BAR Lola T332
24th on the grid of the 30 drivers that qualified for the race out of 60 entrants from five countries. Viceroy sponsored Unser and Andretti under Vel’s Parnelli Jones as well. Benny finished 11th in the grand prix, his third race in the 210-mph Lola T332. The Viceroy Parnelli cars expired, due to mechanical failures.
At the end of the 1975 season, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company withdrew their entire auto racing sponsorships around the globe as a result of internal union pressures to curtail promotional dollars. (BAR was unable to replicate the sponsorship.)
was the master of ceremonies. A legion of athletes and sports icons were inducted, including football great Frank Gifford, ABC-TV commentator Howard Cosell, boxing promoter, Don King, NBA player Earl “The Pearl” Monroe of the New York Knickerbockers, and boxer Joe Frazier
. The black-tie event was attended by more than 1000 spectators and VIPs.
In 1978, Benny Scott returned to Formula Super Vee racing and finished the season for BAR’s African American driver Tommy Thompson, after Thompson death in a crash in September at the Trenton Speedway in Trenton, New Jersey in a Formula Super Vee race (called Mini-Indy cars at this time). Scott never competed after 1978, because of a lack of further corporate sponsorship.
Early career
In 1968, Scott quickly recognized the enormous sums of money it took to race cars, so he earned his master’s degree in psychology. He taught psychology at Los Angeles Harbor College while competing in foreign stock car events in Southern California at the height of the Vietnam War, driving a Renault 4CV. He finished the season ranked 10th in points. In 1969, he returned with an advanced tubular chassis Renault with a Gordini engine and won the Foreign Stock Car Association of Southern California title, his first championship. Shortly thereafter he transitioned into road racing, driving an Austin-Healey Bug-Eyed Sprite in the H-Production class and Formula B cars at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, earning his Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) license.Mel Leighton, a Los Angeles-based African American racing pioneer whose career had begun before the Second World War, introduced Scott to Leonard W. Miller
Leonard W. Miller
Leonard W. Miller is one of two black motor racing pioneers living in the United States.- Early life :Miller was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in its suburbs. His lifelong love of automobiles began at age five in 1939, and he began secretly tinkering with his family’s 1937 Ford in...
, an African American businessman and president of Dynamic Programs, Inc., a manpower consulting firm in Trenton, New Jersey.
Joining a team
In 1971, Miller organized Vanguard Racing, Inc. to field Benny Scott in Formula A, to prepare him over five years for the Indianapolis 500Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
. Vanguard’s board of directors included Paul Jackson, president of Jackson & Sanders Construction Company, Sargent Shriver
Sargent Shriver
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
, first head of the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
and former Ambassador to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, who was the Democratic candidate for vice president in the 1972 presidential election, Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
defensive halfback Brig Owens
Brig Owens
Brigman Owens is a former American football player in the National Football League who played defensive back for the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins....
, and Richard Deutsch, chairman of the board of Harbor Oil Corporation.
Scott drove the Vanguard Formula A in a McLaren M10-A, powered with a 500-horsepower Chevrolet V-8 in the L & M Continental 5000 Championship and SCCA events. Drivers came from as far away as Melbourne, Australia to compete in Formula A. Scott won the CSCC-SCCA Southern Pacific Division Championship in 1972 with the McLaren M10-A.
Scott was featured in Champion Spark Plug’s first national print advertising featuring an African American driver, in a campaign that ran in several national magazines tilted “Fast Road to Indianapolis.” The ad showed Scott standing beside a Vanguard McLaren M10-A. Champion became a secondary sponsor for Black American Racers, Inc. and a charter member of the Black American Racers Association
Black American Racers Association
The Black American Racers Association was founded in August 1972 in Trenton, New Jersey by Leonard W. Miller, Ron Hines, Eugene Gadson, and Charles Singleton. BARA was formed to give recognition to black racing drivers, crews, mechanics, car owners, and other members of the auto racing community...
(BARA).
BARA was created in 1972 by Leonard W. Miller, Ron Hines, Wendell Scott
Wendell Scott
Wendell Oliver Scott was an American stock car racing driver from Danville, Virginia. He is the only black driver to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. According to a 2008 biography of Scott, he broke the color barrier in Southern stock car racing on May 23, 1952, at the Danville...
, and Malcolm Durham. This organization blossomed into a nationwide membership of 5000, supporting all African American efforts in various categories of auto racing competition. BARA also served as a support network for Benny Scott’s extraordinary motor racing ambition in the aftermath of America's Civil Rights era.
In addition to Benny Scott, Vanguard Racing, Inc. fielded a white driver, John Mahler, in the 1972 Indianapolis 500. Vanguard’s concept was to use Mahler as a development coach and a conduit for Scott’s preparation for the Indianapolis 500 in subsequent years. However, many of Vanguard’s stockholders were so exuberant over the Indianapolis experience with John Mahler that they lost their patience to develop Benny Scott. As a result, they disbanded.
National sponsorship
In 1973, Leonard W. Miller formed Black American Racers, Inc. (BAR) from his offices located at 130 West State Street in Trenton, New Jersey. BAR secured sponsorship from Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company (Viceroy Cigarettes). The sponsorship included an internal plan dubbed “Road to Indy.” This progression strategy put Scott in Formula Super Vee (FSV) competition in SCCA, International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), and the Robert Bosch Gold Cup series on road courses throughout America including Watkins Glen, Lime Rock, Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca, and Road America.Scott achieved several podium finishes in Lola T-324 FSVs purchased from Carl Haas. His most memorable event was at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California on May 4, 1975, where he achieved pole position at 100.882 mph. He was the first driver ever to top 100 mph in a Formula Super Vee at Laguna Seca. In addition, he was the fastest driver during the entire weekend and bested his qualifying speed in the race at 101.111 mph. He was even faster than Germany’s legendary Hans-Joachim Stuck, who drove a BMW 3.0 CSL in another series. On the last lap of the race, approaching the finish line, Scott was beaten by inches by Freddie Phillips
Freddie Phillips
Freddie Phillips was a British musician and composer, best known for his work on television theme music, particularly the children's programmes, Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley....
in his Eldon Mk 14B. Other drivers who emerged from FSV included Howdy Holmes
Howdy Holmes
Howdy S. Holmes , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He began racing in the early 1970s and was based in Stockbridge, Michigan, about northeast of Chelsea....
, Bob Lazier
Bob Lazier
Robert "Bob" Lazier , is an American former race car driver. He raced in the CART series in 1981 and was CART's Rookie of the Year. He had fourth-place finishes at Watkins Glen and Mexico. Lazier also competed in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, finishing 19th after a blown engine caused him to retire...
, and Bill Alsup
Bill Alsup
Bill Alsup is a former race car driver. He was the first CART Rookie of the Year in 1979 and competed in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, finishing 11th. He made 57 CART & USAC Champ Car starts in his career...
. All three qualified for the Indianapolis 500 in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Inaugural Long Beach Grand Prix
Brown & Williamson Tobacco was more than pleased with Scott’s development. The company advanced BAR into Formula 5000Formula 5000
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula...
racing, competing at the same circuits with legends such as Al Unser
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
, Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
, David Hobbs
David Hobbs
David Wishart Hobbs is a British former racing driver currently employed as a commentator for Speed Channel. In 1969 Hobbs was included in the F.I.A...
, Brian Redman
Brian Redman
Brian Herman Thomas Redman is a British racing driver from England....
, Jackie Oliver
Jackie Oliver
Keith Jack Oliver, better known as Jackie Oliver, is a British former Formula One driver and team-owner from England...
, and Jody Scheckter
Jody Scheckter
Jody David Scheckter is a South African former auto racing driver, the Formula One World Drivers Champion.-Career:Scheckter was born in East London, South Africa and educated at Selborne College.-Formula One:...
.
Scott’s most notable race in Formula 5000
Formula 5000
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula...
was the inaugural Long Beach Grand Prix on September 28, 1975, where he qualified the BAR Lola T332
Lola T332
The Lola T332 was a race car designed and built by Lola Cars for use in Formula 5000 racing and made its racing debut in 1973. Commonly using the 5.0L Chevrolet V8 engine, the T332 was successful around the globe with race victories in places such as Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and...
24th on the grid of the 30 drivers that qualified for the race out of 60 entrants from five countries. Viceroy sponsored Unser and Andretti under Vel’s Parnelli Jones as well. Benny finished 11th in the grand prix, his third race in the 210-mph Lola T332. The Viceroy Parnelli cars expired, due to mechanical failures.
At the end of the 1975 season, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company withdrew their entire auto racing sponsorships around the globe as a result of internal union pressures to curtail promotional dollars. (BAR was unable to replicate the sponsorship.)
Hall of Fame
In 1976, Benny Scott was inducted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame at the New York Hilton. Actor Bill CosbyBill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
was the master of ceremonies. A legion of athletes and sports icons were inducted, including football great Frank Gifford, ABC-TV commentator Howard Cosell, boxing promoter, Don King, NBA player Earl “The Pearl” Monroe of the New York Knickerbockers, and boxer Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
. The black-tie event was attended by more than 1000 spectators and VIPs.
In 1978, Benny Scott returned to Formula Super Vee racing and finished the season for BAR’s African American driver Tommy Thompson, after Thompson death in a crash in September at the Trenton Speedway in Trenton, New Jersey in a Formula Super Vee race (called Mini-Indy cars at this time). Scott never competed after 1978, because of a lack of further corporate sponsorship.
Retirement
Benny Scott's wife, Shill Scott, was extremely supportive during his racing career. She died in 1994. They had one son, Damien. Benny also had another son, Eric Parker, who was born and adopted out in 1964. Benny and Eric were reunited in the mid 1990s. Scott worked many years as a psychology professor in Southern California. In 2001, he left his home in Malibu and retired from his position as dean of academic affairs at Los Angeles Mission College to an island in Washington State. He is the most educated African American race car driver to date to reach the professional ranks in open wheel racing. Leonard W. Miller, Ron Hines, and Benny Scott remain close friends.External links
- Elkhart Lake, 23 August 1975, OldRacingCars.com
- MoSport Park, 21 Sep 1975, OldRacingCars.com
- Benny Scott MyF5000.com