Wendell Scott's Backyard NASCAR Race Shop and Former Petty Enterprises Hauler!

To watch Wendell walk among his old race cars is to watch a man admire his treasures. His garage is his real scrapbook. Every car, every loose part with a memory solidly attached. Every one of these old racers with a history all its own. For they once glided around racetracks under the silky touch of the man who beat the odds every time the green flag fell. >> Any questions you have, I mean, this is this is where it is. This is where This is where it um this where we lived. >> Did your dad build the garage or >> He built it? He built the garage. We replaced the roof on it. It's a historical landmark. >> Oh. >> You see it on the street before you leave. You want to see this is this is a this is one of the highest rated historical landmarks in the state of Virginia. >> Did you grow up here? >> I grew up here. At 7 years old, I was starting to learn tools. uh with two was what 9/116/2 in and then I progressed into um learning more about working on the cars and being body fender man of my father's race cars and and also crew chief >> really matter of fact I'm the only African-American crew chief in NASCAR history we' have them in this four cars in here we had one across that way and three headed this way but basically three cars we had the whalers and compressor and the workbenches and Everything >> is is some of the stuff in here still the same as it was? >> Yeah. Yeah. Everything is >> really >> This is motor sand. This is Stanny Billy's engines on. Put the engine on and build it. That's our refrigerator that we kept the snacks in. >> That's so cool. >> You know, a lot of the lot of original parts are still hanging around here, but a lot of it's gone hanging around the walls. He look around the walls. A lot of stuff is still here. >> When did your dad start racing? Uh he said he started racing in 1947, but uh you study the history books, they'll say 52, but he got his NASCAR license in um September 1950. NASCAR license 1953. A guy named Mike Poston granted him a NASCAR license in September 53. Of course, he raced um he raced on old Daytona Beach course in 54, 55, 56, 57, and 58 before we went to the International Speedway. Was all this out of the same garage? >> Everything. Everything. This is the only garage we ever had. >> Really? >> Everything. >> Wow. That's awesome. >> One that's got a legacy. >> What's this trailer? It looks >> This is a trailer that we hauled We hauled a car on. We even had extra engine. That's a That lets up and we can put extra engine up in there. >> What years were your dad racing with this trailer? >> Uh we had just in the in the late 60s >> really. And for many years what we only we had a u another trailer we had a toe bar with a toe bar. Uh you know we had no trailer but then we got a couple of trailers and this was the last one we used. >> So would this have been the trailer he's using kind of in his like the prime like the in the 70s and all that? >> Wow. >> You build it here? >> Yeah. Mhm. >> Did you build it with him? >> Yeah. Really? >> I did everything with him. I did everything with him. He and my father, me and my father, and I had another brother who was here some of the time. Guys who who cared was interested. >> How did he get into racing? >> He got into racing. Um there was a track here in Danville Speed uh fairground raceway and they were trying to attract more African-Americans to the to the race to the races. So the promoter came with the idea of going to the police station. They found out uh African-Americans who had speeding records who known to drive fast. So I think the story tells that they had they went to seven. My father had a a myth that he was a boot the bootleger and uh they came to him. Of course he was excited cuz he used to go watch the races and uh he thought they were going to furnish a car. So the week of the race, he came back and said, "When are you got you gonna be there this weekend?" They said, "Where's my car?" He said, "You got to furnish your own car." So anyway, he had some bootleg cars, but he wasn't going to expose them. So he had a brother-in-law had a car. He borrowed his car. He was a he was a he was a preacher and he he always wanted to make money, right? So they had to convince him, man, we're going to get rich. Anyway, he bought his car and cured it in there that night and of course it came all to pieces. The seat broke and jumped out of gear and all. >> Was he a bootleger? >> Who? My dad. >> Yeah. >> Notorious. Notorious. He was the bootleger. >> Yeah. I mean, history. It's all in the history books. He the first one who had power brakes on on 44s. He had the the killer switches on his brake system where if he hit the toggle switch, his tail lights would stay on but the brake lights wouldn't light up. He'd make the police wreck. >> Were that from this garage, too? >> Everything >> really. So, he built bootlegging cars in here. >> Yeah, but they were in disguise. He would >> That is so cool. >> He had a place out in the country relative that had a barn. He kept his bootleg cars out there. But I've seen them sitting all around the yard. He'd have them They didn't look like bootleg cars. He'd had the wheels off them and have them sitting on on blocks and everything. Then when he got ready to run, he put his stuff on them and and go. >> So he tried to make them look like they weren't >> just regular car, but basically he kept it those particular ones hidden. They were hidden, you know. So yeah. >> Huh. >> That's the legacy. What else got >> When did he actually move here? >> In the 50s. Uh he bought this property. I think he built this shop around 1950 or something like that. But he was uh his father was a mechanic actually. His father was uh in Pittsburgh. He was the old Studebaker factory. He was a one of the head foreman there. But he learned his skills from his father. But he had an innate mechanical genius about himself. Anyway, >> so your grandfather was from Pittsburgh. >> He's from D. My grandfather's really from uh um down in Great Falls, South Carolina. Down that way. Rock Hill. >> Oh, >> that's where he's from. And uh >> which truck was hauling this trailer? >> Well, that truck and other truck we had all trucks and stuff. That truck right there. Went all over as far as California with that truck. Got about 5 miles to the gallon. But uh >> Do you ride with him on the road, too? >> Yeah. Everything. I did everything with my father. I did everything with him. What's the axle buried in the ground for? >> We had a dog. >> Oh, really? >> Yeah. >> Chain up the dog at home. >> That's cool. >> Just stuff like that, you know. You got to need need a place to tie up the dog. Let's just bury an axle. >> The chain big chain on, you know. >> Yeah. This this one thing about this truck was you could carry uh instead of taking two vehicles, we could put cuz it's a dual seater and we put uh and it had air condition on it too. They actually had an air conditioning unit. Uh it was air conditioned and uh had two seats in it and it had dual tanks and uh we had our little eight track tape player with balon in there and back seat. We having four people on that. Well, we could car six or seven people in this and I had to car another >> What year did he buy this from the petties? >> Uh, I don't know. Let's see. Plumouth gave uh dodge gave Richard this truck and then when he got the the trucks that he could drive up on. So, he sold my father this I would say. um 64 65 something like that. I don't remember the exact year but it came in handy. I mean you know it just run a lot of gate with Ronda. I mean it was it was a it was really it was really nice. It was upgrade for us you know cuz like I said we could instead of taking two vehicles we could put everything we needed. It was a garage on wheels and everything, all the equipment was inside this this this truck. I mean, this was high-tech for the 60s. You got air conditioning. Most houses didn't even have air conditioning back. >> Yeah. >> This is cool. off and >> really, >> you know, stuff like that over the years. We talking about going back a lot of years, you know, but it was a tag on there. >> It says 73 on it. >> Okay. That's the last time we used >> 1973. >> So that's the one you got hurt in >> the one I got hurt in right there. I don't like to think of the financial part of it cuz I got hurt pretty bad, you know. Broke my leg in seven places. Well, probably the best race car window Scott ever had racing in the uh 1973 Winston 500. He was in a crash I think on lap 13 and uh he was in the hospital. In fact, it's a miracle that he just that he survived the accident, but uh he had his life savings in this race car and it basically ruined him financially and uh and basically ended his racing career. It's still got yellow paint on the end of it where uh Lenny Pawn clipped me in the rear and spun me >> and that's what caused me to wreck. He's right on that end. Hit me right on that end and spun me around and when he did car came right into me. >> The car was uh sold by the Scott family to a gentleman down in Georgia. He contacted Will and uh Will went down bought it and Wendle's ramp truck. Uh we're in the process of getting the ramp truck running. >> Where did it sit outside for so long to >> up in Danville at uh Wendell's uh shop? >> Oh, so this was just like in the woods or something behind his place. And >> that Wow. >> This car was built by James Hammer. It was 71 Mercury. It's got some true race history. This car was really advanced. It has a fighter plane cinch seat belt cinch in it. a magnificent oiling system that was advanced for the time for a 71 Mercury >> was that why did he stop using it? >> Uh we got the truck right there. Oh, >> that truck and the trailer. We pull this with the trailer. We could carry our uh all of our air tanks and everything on this. We had we had the uh >> Tiger Tom Piston name on it. >> It says Tiger Tom Pone sticker. >> Yeah. Yeah. We're good. This was uh See, did you see right here? We had the device. We had the place for for our air tanks and stuff. You cut that out. We slide three air tanks under there. Also up here, uh, an engine. Step around this way. You can see it. It swings out. >> Oh, the engine hoist. >> Yeah. Yeah. Engine hoist. Matter of fact, um, in 19 uh when you I was in I was in college and I had a I had a Saturday morning class. See how the cabinets and everything in there? >> Yeah. Uh, and I got to Martinsville and uh, when I got there on the road leading down to where you where signing to get your your pit pass, they were waving me on. I had a had a 7:30 class in Durham. I said, "What's going on?" People telling me, waving me on. My dad had blown engine that morning and he needed an engine out of my car. I had a 427 with two full barrels stroker kit and a 66 old police car. So when I stopped to get my pit pass, they said, "Oh, you come back and get the lady. Dad's waiting for you." So when I drove across the track, he said, he said, "Friend, come on, hurry up, and get." He said, "We got the motor. I blew engine. I need your engine." So we pulled in there and took the engine out of out of my car and put it in um and put it in he ran that Sunday with it. But guess what? After the race was over, we do what? I got to get back to school. So, we had to take the engine out of the race car, put it back in my in my car to go back to school. Basically, only thing we had to really change on the engine where we that car at that time we were running four just one single four barrels and uh NASCAR didn't run two barrels long for for a few years we did, but but I had two four barrels on that. So, we had changed the intake, had changed the oil pan. Basically that was all and and uh dropping it in there that Sunday he was flying man. He told me after the race he said boy he said he said I think I got to take that. He end up taking it through really I need that engine. He that thing was it had a stroker kit in it. It was dstroke from a uh 427 back to a 374. That's what you know we had the same size block with the different was crankshaft. You don't want to hear all that. >> That stuff's cool. >> Yeah. >> Do you do that to make it rev higher faster? >> Yeah. make it short tracks. I mean like Chevrolet and just got stroker kit. But those four we really we got the we got this we got the stroer kit from the Wood brothers. They given it to us and uh my dad discovered what it was. He said, "Oh man, no wonder they've been killing everybody in Mars." You know, everything was hanging there. You can see, you know, I mean it was everything we needed was here. It was garage on wheels. >> That is awesome. >> Yeah. >> So, he get uh you said this truck came from petties. You got kids from the Wood Brothers. Were Were them two kind of like allies of his for park? >> Well, you know, we had uh Yeah, they would uh you know, it's like a fraternity really, man. I mean, unbelievable people. It was like and my father was assisted a lot of people. I mean he was a mechanical genius and a lot of the independent drivers he would share his knowledge with them and it was like a group you know and none of us had no money you know we didn't pett and woods did but but uh we just helped each other we pitted each other you know uh like I remember Richard children started he had a couple guys in his pig group we we'd pit each other and we'd have two or three people and we'd help each other and J Roy Tyler all those guys from back in the They kind of assisted each other when they needed, you know, they needed if you needed a part and they had it, you get it from them. If we if they needed a part, we had it, we let them have it, you know, so it was like a fraternity really. But you can see, you can imagine back this house we just came in. Okay. This this Oh yeah, that's awesome. >> I mean different we had the we had we had the air tank, we had everything. electrical. Like I said, everything went up under there. >> It was already set up like that when Petty's had it. >> Yeah, pretty much. Not this, but uh we modified some things. We had storage shelves all up there, cabinets, and of course, it's not that many. I'm sure every man has experienced this issue at some point in their life. Something comes up where you got to go to an event or function and look somewhat presentable. You have no idea what to do because you look in your closet and it's just race car shirts or things with car part companies or whatever the same t-shirt you've been wearing for 10 years. Well, today's video sponsor can help you solve that problem. It's called Kufandy. You may have seen it before on Christopher Bell's car. They sponsored him at Martinsville last year. They're a brand that was founded on the core concept of helping men move through different phases of life with confidence. Kufendi was built on one simple yet powerful belief. Every man deserves to look and feel his best at every stage of life. We love brands that support motorsports and racing. So, we're happy that they're on Christopher Bell's car. They're happy that they're supporting our channel. And you'll be happy that they'll help you not look like a bomb next time you need to go somewhere and look presentable. Use the Kufandy NASCAR discount code to get up to 15% off. Support Things and support things you like. And check out Kufandy at the link in the description to save some money. I invite you to go back and watch Coffee with Cal with Frank Scott. >> I will. >> You need to do that before you can do that. >> You'll see some stuff on there. >> So, one day he just decided, I'm not using this truck anymore. Drove it back there and parked it and that's where it's been. >> You know, we we um Yeah, burn too much gas. >> Oh, was that early '7s? That's whenever gas was getting real expensive, wasn't it? Well, because it's made the way it's made in front. It's like like you're running into the wind. >> Yeah. >> That makes what I'm talking about. >> Yeah. >> But that wasn't a whole reason. I mean, you know. >> So, you went from that truck to the one that's right there. >> That's the last one we used right here. We had a couple other trucks. >> So, what did a normal weekday look like when you were working on the car? Was it just you two? Who else came out here? Well, uh, you know, we had we had a couple of guys helped. My brother, my older brother when he was around, he helped. Um, basically was just, you know, like these guys, you know, just two or three people. I mean, like a lot of people I'm sure help AC. They not mechanics so much, but they they help them out in different ways, you know, and that's what our guys would would do, you know, run to the store, run to the parts place. >> Yeah. >> The go for go for this, go for that. >> Yeah. You know, he would they were glad to do that. just to be here. >> Did you have a grill out here or anything? Like what what was it like when you >> barrel? We you'd make a stove out of 50 gallon barrel and that was uh we had a he had a 5gallon can mounted on the wall in there. We put our old We recycle oil like we change oil, we put the oil in the barrel. I got that barrel, you know. stuff. And um we had a copper tube running down into the top of the barrel and he would cut it cut it on, let the oil run in. That would help start the fire and stuff. >> Y'all used to make sandwiches on top of the stove. >> Yeah, we had Yeah. Make sandwich. Yeah. He would always keep sleeves of baloney and and he would let people make come make them a sandwich and and man the best sandwich. We had we had a store over here. We had beep on it and in the summertime you'd have cantalopes and watermelons and try can I get a slice of watermelon? Yeah. Don't try to take it off. And uh so that was like I I told Warrick many times. It was a community center actually, you know. >> Were there any other guys racing around here that were closer than the Wood brothers? Earl Brooks was his was his was was uh closest driver friend. Uh fact he drove when we had when we were running modified cars we went from flathead to overhead the daddy put Earl in his flathead car. We had two cars and he put Earl in his flathead car and u place everywhere the modified circuit and then when he uh we moved into Grand National, Earl actually drove his back up. We had two grand aft cars and drove that. But they were just like brothers. I mean they were brothers. I mean they were brothers, you know. And uh but then you had people came on like Bobby Fleming. Uh Bobby started right here to help him get into amateur division and helped him progress. He made taught me to do body and fender work. And when Bobby was moving up and wanted to run truck, he said he said you know Bobby used to laugh you got to learn how to do this. I don't I'm going to raise you got to learn how to do this work. So he taught me body in fender work and a guy named Wayne McGee. So that's when I took on a role as body and fender man. Then I did the motors and transmissions. I did suspensions and we did everything. >> Did you ever get to drive? >> I drove I did get to drive and it was supposed to start actually racing. I used to go out and uh uh practice after I was…