Rob Scott: A Lesson In Determination

By Ken Keating

In a 1973 Demolition Derby, Rob Scott got his first ever track experience at Western Speedway and with thirty-nine years under his belt since has compiled a solid list of credentials that are the envy of a lot of race car drivers. From 1974 to 1975 he served as crew chief for Gordie Stone and won a couple of mechanic races. In 1976, he drove Dave Bennett's car in a Jalopy Class race and won the Main Event. He drove in the 1977 Hobby Stock class and won the Championship. The following year he won the Stock Car Championship and then followed that up in 1982 when he was again crowned the Stock Car Champion and was given a trip to the Daytona 500. He was awarded with the Mechanic of the Year, Best Looking Car as well as winning the 1984 Hobby Stock Championship. He got the Mechanic of the Year award again in 1989. He joined the ranks of the Old Time Racers Assoc. (OTRA) in 1990, traveled to Hamilton and Toronto for the East-West Challenge and emerged as the Western Points Champion. He drove the Milt Barnes #32 and won numerous Main Events throughout the Northwest. He was awarded the Mechanic of the Year award in 1991 and 1992, won the Cassidy OTRA Dirt Cup in 1991 and set fast time for 1991 and 1992.

In 1994, he moved to the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) Series and won six features out of nine entered at Western on his way to capturing the Championship. He also received the Driver of the Year, Mechanic of the Year and the Corby Cup for most Main Event wins. He was crowned 1995 Open Wheel Champion as well as Rookie of the Year and a 3rd place finish in the National IMCA Points. An impressive IMCA record saw him become the first B.C. driver to win the National title in 1996, a feat he repeated in 1997 and 1999. He was IMCA Champion at Saratoga in 1996 and 1997 as well as overall Salmon Classic winner and Western Speedway Champion in 1997 and 1998. He won the B.C. IMCA Series Championships in 1998 and 1999 plus the Hard Charger and the Mechanic of the Year awards in 1999.

Scott joined the WILROC Sprint Car & Super Modified series in 2000 and drove the Ron Douglas Roadster to three successive 5th place points finishes. He also won four Main Events in this class. In 2005, he drove Jason Beaulieu's IMCA in one Saratoga race and won that Main event. Over his career, he has competed at Western Speedway, Grandview Bowl, Cassidy, Saratoga and Tri-Port Speedways on the Island; Penticton, Prince George, Quesnel, Vernon and Williams Lake in B.C.; Port Angeles, Skagit, Spanaway, Tenino and Wenatchee in Washington; Portland and Roseburg in Oregon; Stateline in Idaho; Kalispell in Montana; Medicine Hat and Race City in Alberta; and Flamboro and CNE Stadium in Ontario.

The races in Ontario hold a special place with Rob as it held a lot of unknowns as far as competing on such a grand level. He was running in second and about to reel in the leader when his car quit with a small carburator problem with just a few laps left but it was enough to show he could compete at that level. Of all the Championships under his belt, the 1996 National title with the I.M.C.A. Series stands above the rest. Rob ran about thirty-three races that season and had taught Pam, his wife, how to build engines and they achieved a great deal of success that season and continued winning in future years. The year 1982 was a special year as well as he was given the trip to the Daytona 500 after winning the Stock Car Championship. It was a little tougher to win Championships in the early years as car counts were high and the competition very close with many drivers in contention.

In 2002, disaster struck Rob. A fall from the roof of his house put the former IMCA Champion in the hospital and a wheelchair for an extended period of time. He suffered broken wrists and damage to his spinal cord and medical persons feared that Scott would not be capable of ever walking let alone driving a race car again. They also predicted limited use of the arms. As expected, this type of news can be life changing and devastating but he told Pam, his wife, "This is not an answer I am prepared to accept". Scott proved everyone to be wrong and in less than a year got behind the wheel of the high octane Sprint Car and drove hard as that is the only way Scott knows how. In fact he said that driving that car was part of rehab as it had no power steering. Saturday, September 20, 2008, Scott again drove hard and won the WilRoc Sprint Car Championship race. He had had minor car problems all year but on this night the car was on a rail and even the hard charging Jeff "The Hurricane" Montgomery couldn't get by Scott taking the second spot while the WilRoc Champion Scott Aumen couldn't catch either Montgomery or Scott finishing third.

Forty laps would be the distance for the Sprint Cars with Scott taking the lead on the first lap. Jeff "The Hurricane" Montgomery settled into the second spot with Duane Zeinstra in third. Behind them Guy Barrett and Darren Yates were in a tight battle for fourth and fifth. On lap fourteen Yates took over the third spot and Barrett moving to fourth. Barrett got by Yates on lap twenty-four with Scott Aumen moving to the fifth spot on lap twenty-one. A couple of yellow flags put Montgomery on Scott's nerf bar but each time, on the restarts, Scott maintained the advantage over the former N.S.R.A. and WilRoc Champion running consistent laps of 14 seconds plus. On the very last lap, Aumen made the pass to move into the third spot to follow Montgomery and Scott to the checkered flag. On this night Scott's car worked to perfection as he led start to finish in a very entertaining Feature event and finale to the WilRoc Sprint Car season.

Rob is very satisfied with his racing career as he has accomplished many things in many classes and has done a fair amount of traveling to other tracks. For all of his accomplishments, Rob was inducted into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2006, something he is very proud of. To be mentioned and acknowledged by so many other fine racers from this area is a pretty big deal. He gives his all each race night, and even though he might be somewhat tentative, his previous accident does not lesson his drive to succeed. You can watch Rob again this season as he will be behind the wheel of the #15 Scansa Sprint Car as they open the season June 10 running for the Billy Foster Memorial and the following night the Strawberry Cup.