STORY WRITTEN BY RHONDA BECK AND DARGAN WATTS
Daytona Beach, Fla.- On Wednesday night, February 20, 2013 The Living Legends of Auto Racing will host its 21st annual awards banquet at The Shores Resort and Spa, located at 2637 S. Atlantic Avenue in Daytona Beach Shores, beginning at 6 p.m.
One of eight people being honored at this affair will be dirt track championBilly Scott of Union, S.C., who will receive the "Saturday Night Hero" award for his accomplishments in a career that spanned from 1955 until retirement in 1997. During that time, Scott chalked up more than 300 victories and numerous track championships.
In 1955, Scott and his wife, Barbara, purchased a house in Union, across the street from a race car shop owned by Robert Brock. He would help the boys work on the cars while holding down a job at Milliken Mills during the day. Back then, the cars were in-line 6's and Ford had the flathead 8. Most of the men and some women were known as "shadetree" mechanics and all of the parts came from salvage yards.
"I worked a few weeks on the cars and then I was asked if I wanted to drive one of them. That was the reason I was working on thecars,"Scott recalled. That's where his career started, ashe ran his first race that year at the near-by Beltline Speedway, driving a 6-cylinder Plymouth. There was no rookie class, so he ran with the "seasoned" veterans.
He flipped his car in five of his first seven races as he tried to circle the track with the gas peddle glued to the floorboard. The track announcer gave him the nickname of "Rollover" which stuck for many years. Scott also drove a '35 Ford that year, but won his first race the following year in a car owned by driver/car builder Sam Smith.
After six years of helping work on the cars, he was offered a ride in a car owned by J. D. Sexton who wanted him to drive for him at Interstate Fairgrounds, near Spartanburg, and he took him up on the offer. That's when Scott became a driver-only. He had a 200-lap race and won it with Sexton's car and the team received $150 for its efforts. He started running NASCAR sanctioned Late Model Sportsman events in 1961and competed until 1975 when he decided to return to the non-sanctionedtracks closer to home.
Every placehe went, his main goal was to beat Ralph Earnhardt, who was the king of the dirt tracks in that era. "When you beat him, you beat the best, and we did it," Scott said. In 1967, He landed a ride in a car owned by famed car builder Marion "Preacher" Coxand the pair won championships at Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga.and Monroe. N.C.,while also competing atColumbia, S.C. (where he finished second in the points behind Ralph Earnhardt)and Greenville Pickens.The duo was third in points in South Carolina as well as Georgia and finished the season ninth in the national standings.
The championship at Charleston was rather unique as the final race of the season was scheduled on Saturday night, but was called due to rain before action could begin and was re-scheduled the next day. Cox was a devout Christian and refused to put his cars on a track on Sunday, so Scott was without a ride. He had wondered about returning the next day but was talked into it by Earnhardt and car bulder/driver J. D. (Junior) Johnson of Florence. When he returned on Sunday, Scott found all 38 cars had drivers, so he was stuck without a ride. Johnson, who had his car alongside Earnhardt on the front row, saw Scott was without a ride, so he climbed out of his car and told Scott to take the wheel and and told his new driver he had to win the race.
He did just that and it was announced that he had finished the the season in second place in the points. Barbara, who ispresntly known as the "Queen of the racing websites" protested this and supplied NASCAR with her accurate accounts of each race and after a thorough re-count, Scott was declared the track points champion and was given and invitation to compete in the 1968 Permatex 300 at Daytona.
"I teamed up with Tiny Lund and went to Daytona. I borrowed a drivers suit from Richard Petty for practice and put duct tape over his name. That was the year physic Jeanne Dixon predicted a terrible accident at Daytona andBarbara remembered seeing the name Richard Petty," added Scott. "She wouldn't let me wear his suit after she heard about the prediction, so Darrell Dieringer got me a suit for the race." He qualified in the middle of the 50-car field, but the car developed a problem after 11 laps and had to drop outof the event.
Scott's hard charging driving style made him a fan favorite. With many votes from his fans anda tremendous write-in campaign by Barbara andtheir friends in 1973 and again in 1974, Scott was selected by the fan vote to compete in the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the"Big Chance Special" both years. Drivers who had never won a Grand National race were eligible, but the winner of the opportunity to drive a car built by top Grand National builders was selected by the fans.
Scott raced against many of the best during his career and finished either ahead of them or near the front. He competed against dirt track aces Freddy Smith, Chuck Piazza and Ralph Earnhardt. During their dirt track driving days, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, LeeRoy Yarbrough and Tiny Lund rubbed fenders with him as well.
He continued to compete, and was competitive during his twilight years, often mixing it up with future dirt track Hall-of-Famers, Scott Bloomquist, Donnie Moran, Red Farmer, Freddy Smith, Mike Duvall and Buck Simmons. "Duvall, Bloomquist and Smith worked on their cars, but I was a driver only after 1961," Scott said. "I just drove 'em and other people worked on 'em."
For years, other drivers were chasing him, but as his age crept up on him and his cars were not as superior as they were for years, Scott became the one who had to do the chasing. He ran his last race in 1997 at the age of 64. Even at his age and competing in not the best of equipment, he was still one of the best on any given night. He retired with more than 300 wins to his credit.
In 2010, Scott was honored by being selected to the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.
Scott is the first to tell you that his faith in God, his wife, Barbara and their children were the backbone of his success. "My family followed me everywhere and I couldn't have done what I did without them, Scott added. "Looking back over all the years of racing, I just thank God for being with me through all that stuff."
Recipients of the 2013 awards are:
Allison Family Corporate Award (In memory of Clifford & Davey): Fox Sports - Dave Hill
Dedicated Service: Don Bok (Photographer)
Distinguished Driver: Dale Jarrett (Former championship driver and presently TV commentator)
Pioneer of Racing: Humpy Wheeler (You name it and he has done it)
Russ Moyer Media: Eddie Roche (Sports Writer)
Saturday Night Hero: Billy Scott (Winner of more than 300 races..National Dirt Late Model Hall-of-Fame Inductee, 2010)
Tribute to Early Years: George and Ginny Baker (George was the first NASCAR pilot and Ginny was one of the original employees of NASCAR)
Tickets for the banquet are $50, while Corporate tables (8 people) are $500. Those who plan to attend should contactPaulette Mandalaas soon as possible at 386-299-7343.
Visit: www.livinglegendsofautoracing.com
Billy Scott landed a ride in the Marion Cox owned and build For in 1967.
The team was track champion at three race tracks and was runner-up at
another. In addition, the Cox/Scott duo finished ninth in points on a naional
level.
When Billy Scott arrived at a track in 1967, all he had to do was climb behind
the wheel and drive the Ford owned and built by famed legend, Marion Cox.
Scott is pictured sitting on the front fender while Cox is third from the left.
updated by @dargan-watts: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
