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To start my NASCAR #BlackHistoryMonth 
thread I'll talk about a man that has been overshadowed. The first African American to compete in a NASCAR National Series event, Elias Bowie (1914-2005) His first and only start was in 1955 at Bay Meadows Speedway he finished 28th
thread I'll talk about a man that has been overshadowed. The first African American to compete in a NASCAR National Series event, Elias Bowie (1914-2005) His first and only start was in 1955 at Bay Meadows Speedway he finished 28th
The next driver is the second African American to compete at the National Level. Charlie Scott (19??-1984) the Forest Park, GA native raced for car owner Carl Kiekhaefer in 1956 at Daytona Beach Road Course. He drove his Chrysler 300 to a 19th place finish in his only start.
One of the rather well known pioneers of the sport Hall of Famer Wendell Scott. The Danville,VA native was the first full-time African American driver and winner at the National Level. In his 13-year career brought home 147 top-ten finishes, one pole and one win in the 1963
Jacksonville 200. His long career came to a end after the 1973 National 500 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway where he finished 12th. Scott was inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015
During the time of Wendell Scott the fourth African American driver emerged in 1971. George Wiltshire the Corona,NY native made two Cup starts in 1971 and 1975. In 1971 Scott and Wiltshire raced at the Islip Speedway in Islip,NY (Scott finished 11th & Wiltshire 28th)
The next driver to make a Cup start was Randy Bethea. His lone attempt at Cup took place in 1975 during the World 600 (Coke 600) in his 75' Chevrolet. He finished in 33rd position due to a engine failure. He also has a documentary about his racing career on YouTube.
This driver has quite a storied past across the board in motorsports. Willy T Ribbs managed to cut his teeth in open wheel and sports cars. He eventually made his way to NASCAR in 1986 at the historic North Wilkesboro for DiGard Racing.
Also during the late 90s another African American driver emerged on the scene. Bruce Driver from Pennington, NJ raced in both the Craftsman Truck Series and Whelen Modified Tour. At the age of 33 he mad is debut in 1998 for Modified Tour at the historic Thompson Speedway....
He made two other races in 86' (Riverside & Michigan) and attempted for 4 others. Ribbs found a lot of success in the Trans-Am series where he noticed 17 wins and the 1983 Rookie of the Year in Trans Am. His last racing appearance was in 2011 in a Indy Lights event.
Moving forward to the 90s the next African American driver to reach NASCAR. Preston Tutt from Augusta,GA was a late model driver who started racing with his brother at the Lanier National Speedway. He made his first NASCAR appearance in the Slim Jim All-Pro series in 1997
Continuing with the 90s, Tim Woods III a west coast driver from Chino Hills, CA made his appearance in 1999 in the NASCAR Southwest Tour at Irwindale where he finished 20th. Just a year later he made his first appearance in the Craftsman Truck Series.
