Remember When by Don Gamble

Herb Scott

Herb started racing in 1948 and he won his first feature that year at the New Kensington race track.  His 500^th feature victory came at Don Martin’s Lernerville Speedway on May 30, 1975 and he won the last feature, number 520 at Latrobe Speedway in 1979.

Other honors which he has accumulated during his many years of facing included: the Pittsburgh Roadster Association title in 1951, twelve consecutive feature wins at Clarksburg, West Virginia in 1952, twenty one feature wins at Heidelberg in 1956 with a total of 45 feature wins for the year.  Herb won the Pittsburgh Racing Association title from 1956 through 1960, 1962, 1965, and again in 1967.

His driving accomplishments came in several types of race cars including roadsters, modifieds, sprints, and late models.  Herb ran at Langhorne and won the 1958 Tri-State Championship at Heidelberg.  He also won the first Johnny Apple Seed Classic in 1970 at Mansfield, Ohio.

Other honors which he has received include:  The Dapper Dan Club of Pittsburgh sports award 1957, 1960, and 1963.   In 1974 Herb was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.  In 1977, the Hall of Fame at Pocono was established by the staff of the Race of Champions and Herb became a member.

During his many years of racing, Herb drove for several car owners.  The list sounds like the “Who’s Who” of car owners.  Some of the owners were:  Bill “Pappy” Kessler, Doc Frawley, Hoot Martin, Art Munch, Tom Kennedy, Ziggy, and George Leon.  Herb won his first trophy driving for Pappy Kessler.  It is ironic that some twenty years later Herb’s son Deek won his first trophy also driving for Pappy.  When Herb drove for Doc Frawley he was teamed up with Bill Webster.  Bill built and maintained the cars that he and Herb drove.

One of the most interesting owner-driver teams that Herb drove for was in 1971.  Herb and teammate Bob Wearing drove the 8-ball cars of George Leon.  On race nights each car would be racing at a different track.  The idea was if they raced together they would have one first and one second. If they split, they could possibly, and usually did, win two events.  In 1971 the Leon-Scott-Wearing team won an unheard of seventy features between them that year.

During the early years, Dick Linder was the driver Herb liked to watch in action.  Later, Herb’s favorite driver was his son Deek.  Deek cut his teeth in the claimers and semi late divisions and later moved into the modified and late model ranks.

People often wonder why Herb retired while he was still at the top of his game.  According to Herb he was getting light headed from time to time. He was racing at Schmucker’s Speedway in Latrobe in 1979. Scott was leading the feature and there was a caution at the half way point for an accident.  The race was stopped with all the cars lined up on the front straightaway. The drivers got out of their cars and Herb was leaning against the number 7. He began to get light headed again. Herb said “I looked up and made a deal with the Lord. I said if you let me finish this race I will quit. I won the race and sold the car the next day”.  That was the final race of a very successful career that includes a record 520 feature wins.  The name Herb Scott is synonymous with winner.

Herb and his wife Pat have been married 55 years and they live in Wexford, Pa.  In addition to their son Deek, they have two lovely granddaughters. He enjoys retirement while driving around in his street rod and going to car cruises with his son Deek.