At long last, years of controversy and frustration finally also was laid to rest.

"We can tell our father he got his trophy," son Franklin Scott said.

Scott became the only black driver to win a race in NASCAR's top level when he won on Dec. 1, 1963, at Jacksonville's Speedway Park. While he received the winner's check of $1,000, his trophy was misplaced after a two-hour scoring dispute. Buck Baker originally was declared the winner, but NASCAR overturned the results after it found Scott wasn't given credit for two laps in the 100-lap main event.

The only missing piece of Scott's historic accomplishment was the trophy, and the family, sometimes bitterly, refused to accept the outcome.

They left the dusty 5/8-mile dirt track in South Georgia on Saturday relieved and content.

"We are grateful to Jacksonville," Franklin said, "for making this right."

June 2010 story: 1963 NASCAR controversy: Racing or race?

The Jacksonville Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame spent months trying to find the original trophy, hall president Ronnie Rohn said. The club then focused on other trophies awarded during the 1963 season to find one that best-resembled the trophy Scott should have received.

The Hall also built a powder-blue Chevrolet replica of Scott's winning car from that afternoon. When the driver's widow saw it, she sighed.

"Oh, there it is," she said while touching her husband's name on the roof. "The No. 34."

Rohn wasn't comfortable reading his prepared script. He finally folded it and talked from the heart. He unveiled the trophy and said, "I hope we never have to do this again."

Daughter Sybil Scott buried her head in her hands and cried.

"This has been a journey for us," she said. "The effort you all have put forth to make this night what it has been - there simply are no words that can ever express what we really feel, but we hope our presence here tonight will, in part, show that we are truly grateful. We do realize you have put forth a lot of effort, that you all will continue to have safe racing and the respect you have shown to our father will forever be embedded in our hearts."

Wendell Jr. also cried.

Some believed the delay in declaring Scott the winner and the loss of his trophy was NASCAR's way of not dignifying a victory by a black driver during the height of the civil rights movement. Several books and the movie, "Greased Lightning," suggested the same.

Through the years, the family had become obsessed with fulfilling their father's legacy, especially following his death from spinal cancer in 1990. The Jacksonville hall, which inducted Scott into its group in 1994, decided months ago Scott deserved his trophy.

Scott's widow, Mary, sons Franklin and Wendell Jr., Sybil and daughter-in-law Mabel accepted an invitation by the Jacksonville hall and NASCAR to be at Golden Isles Saturday. That track was picked because Speedway Park and Jax Raceways have since closed. NASCAR Media Group filmed the ceremony for its two-hour documentary on Scott's life, and the trophy presentation is expected to bring the special to a close.

The ceremony lasted 45 minutes, delaying a night of racing. Some drivers stood by the pit gates watching, none bothered by the delay. A smallish crowd also seemed to appreciate the moment, applauding segments of the ceremony. Some asked the family to stay during the races to sign autographs.

The family drove to Virginia on Sunday. Wendell Jr. and Franklin said their first priority was to take the trophy to their father's grave.

"He will know it," Wendell Jr. said. "He wanted that trophy so much. Now he has it."