Hard Driving

Hard Driving documents a previously untold chapter in the history of integration and sports in America--the odyssey of Wendell Scott, NASCAR's first black driver. 35 b&w photos.

Review :
"In "Hard Driving," Brian Donovan has given us a beautifully insightful look at Wendell Scott--a vital NASCAR pioneer--that's exceedingly well-written, and researched with the kind of zeal and expertise necessary for a tale that covers so rocky a road. Talk about a necessary sports biography. "Hard Driving" is unquestionably a winner." -- Robert Edelstein, author of" Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of NASCAR Legend Curtis Turner" Brian Donovan has written a surprisingly moving and powerful account of Wendell Scott's utterly American Odyssey. It offers a window into a world not that far removed from our own, as we struggle still to judge each person, as Dr. King said, on the content of their character-not the color of their skin. - Ken Burns, filmmaker, winner of three Emmy Awards, including one for "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson" Wendell Scott didn't set out to be a civil rights pioneer. He just wanted to race. His determination against all odds not only broke racial barriers in a Southern white sport at a time when few would have thought it possible but changed the way many racing fans thought about race. As a long-time admirer of Scott, it's my hope that this book, splendidly researched and written, brings him the widespread recognition that he has long deserved. - Jerry Bledsoe, "New York Times" #1 bestseller and author of "The World's Number-One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book" Wendell Scott was to NASCAR what Jackie Robinson was to baseball. The difference was that Robinson played in liberal Brooklyn and had the backing of Branch Rickey, and Scott raced in the segregated South and hadEnobody. Thehard-working, dauntless Scott, like Robinson, should be a national hero. Until that day, he has Brian Donovan's moving biography as his legacy. - Peter Golenbock, author of "Miracle: Bobby Allison and the Saga of the Alabama Gang " Finally a NASCAR book that doesn't leave the reader feeling like a redneck hillbilly. Donovan's "Hard Driving" is an American history book that uses stock car racing to educate about the segregationist South. Driver Wendell Scott overcame more hardship than any 10 white NASCAR drivers combined. Donovan has done an amazing investigative reporting job ferreting out the stories and details that give this story life." " - Tom Cotter, "Road & Track" contributing editor and author of "The Cobra in the Barn" Brian Donovan has written a surprisingly moving and powerful account of Wendell Scott's utterly American Odyssey. It offers a window into a world not that far removed from our own, as we struggle still to judge each person, as Dr. King said, on the content of their character-not the color of their skin. - Ken Burns, filmmaker, winner of three Emmy Awards, including one for "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson" Wendell Scott didn't set out to be a civil rights pioneer. He just wanted to race. His determination against all odds not only broke racial barriers in a Southern white sport at a time when few would have thought it possible but changed the way many racing fans thought about race. As a long-time admirer of Scott, it's my hope that this book, splendidly researched and written, brings him the widespread recognition that he has long deserved. - Jerry Bledsoe, "New York Times" #1 bestseller and author of "The World's Number-One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book" Wendell Scott was to NASCAR what Jackie Robinson was to baseball. The difference was that Robinson played in liberal Brooklyn and had the backing of Branch Rickey, and Scott raced in the segregated South and hadEnobody. The hard-working, dauntless Scott, like Robinson, should be a national hero. Until that day, he has Brian Donovan's moving biography as his legacy. - Peter Golenbock, author of "Miracle: Bobby Allison and the Saga of the Alabama Gang" Finally a NASCAR book that doesn't leave the reader feeling like a redneck hillbilly. Donovan's "Hard Driving" is an American history book that uses stock car racing to educate about the segregationist South. DriverWendell Scott overcame more hardship than any 10 white NASCAR drivers combined. Donovan has done an amazing investigative reporting job ferreting out the stories and details that give this story life." " - Tom Cotter, "Road & Track" contributing editor and author of "The Cobra in the Barn"