[1] He debuted in the Grand National Series (NASCAR highest level) on March 4, 1961, in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

[2] On December 1, 1963, he won a Grand National Series race at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida, becoming the first black driver and team owner to win at NASCAR's premier level.

[3] Scott's career was repeatedly affected by racial prejudice including being poisoned (Dover) and death threats (Spartanburg, Darlington, Talladega, Jacksonville, and Daytona).

As a teen he dropped out of high school, became a taxi driver, and served as a mechanic in the segregated army in Europe during World War II.

[9] In 1951, the officials at the Dixie Circuit, a regional racing organization, decided to recruit a Black driver as a marketing gimmick.

In search of more opportunities, Scott repaired his car with the help of a black mechanic, Hiram Kincaid, and towed it to a NASCAR-sanctioned event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

[7] In the 1964 season, he finished 15th in points, and on December 1, 1963,[12] driving a Chevrolet Bel Air that he purchased from Ned Jarrett, he won a race on the half-mile dirt track at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida—the first Grand National event won by an African American.

Buck Baker, the second-place driver, was initially declared the winner, but race officials discovered two hours later that Scott had not only won, but was two laps in front of the rest of the field.

[14] Scott was forced to retire due to injuries from a racing accident at Talladega, Alabama, in 1973, although he did make one more start at the 1973 National 500 in which he finished 12th place.

[15] Scott's wife, Mary, drove the truck that transported his car, and the pair and their seven children attended races.

His daughter, Sybil, went on to become a consultant for NASCAR's Drive for Diversity campaign, which attempts to increase the number of women and minorities in the sport, both on the track and in the stands.

Scott was inducted as a member of the 2000 class of The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum located in Portsmouth, VA.[19] He also has a street named after him in his hometown of Danville.

Only seven other African-American drivers are known to have started at least one race in what is now the Cup Series: Elias Bowie, Charlie Scott, George Wiltshire, Randy Bethea, Willy T. Ribbs, Bill Lester, and most recently Bubba Wallace.

Loosely based on him, a fictionalized version of Scott was given a minor role in the 2017 Pixar film Cars 3.

Portrayed by Joseph Lee Anderson, Scott's history as a smuggler, mechanical and driving ability, perseverance, and past and future injustices due to racial discrimination were major themes of the episode.