A Film Company Is Finally Giving Wendell Scott, One Of NASCAR’s First Black Owners And Drivers, The Recognition He Deserves

Screenshot: StoryCorps/The Atlantic (YouTube)

By Elizabeth Blackstock, February 13, 2021 (Jalopnik)

Wendell Scott, one of NASCAR’s first Black drivers and team owners, has long been a passing mention in the sport’s history. We’ve seen more features celebrating his accomplishments over the years, but as it stands, NASCAR still hasn’t given Scott the place in history he deserves. Now, new projects are aiming to change that.

Lion Forge Films is part of a larger media production company that has produced comics and animations, including the Oscar award-winning short film Hair Love, which follows a man doing his daughter’s hair for the first time. (If you haven’t seen it before, take a minute and watch it ASAP.)

Lion Forge has partnered with Scott34 Racing, a fashion brand owned by Scott’s family, to produce a whole range of new projects: films, TV series, digital content, and games. First on the list are a docuseries and a fictionalized limited series for streaming that will cover Scott’s history and the larger themes of what it was like to be a Black racer during the Jim Crow era, Deadline reports.

From David Steward II, founder of Lion Forge:

It’s an honor and privilege to work with the Scott family to bring Wendell’s legacy to life in a multitude of ways, all of which carry the dual obligation to entertain while delivering an important message. What Jackie Robinson did for baseball in breaking the color barrier, Wendell Scott did for NASCAR. However, Wendell’s story transcends his sport, his personality, and his accomplishments to speak about the possibility of hope and drive. These are stories that need to be told—and retold.

Scott’s life has been touched on several times before—in The Atlantic and a few documentaries—but I don’t think anything has ever compared to the complexity explored in Hard Driving, Scott’s biography. And complexity sounds like Lion Forge’s whole purpose.

We don’t have a date as to when we can expect these projects to start filming or hit streaming services, but we’ll definitely keep you updated.

Read the original story “A Film Company Is Finally Giving Wendell Scott, One Of NASCAR’s First Black Owner And Driver, The Recognition He Deserves” at Jalopnik.