Little did Scott Henderson know when he volunteered to represent his hometown in the Great Race in 2013 what exactly he was getting into. The team which was supposed to represent Mobile, Alabama, had to drop out with less than a week before the event was to begin in St. Paul, Minn. Local officials in Mobile knew Scott had an old car – 1 1964 ½ Mustang convertible – and that he and his family were always ready to represent their hometown, the finish city on the 2013 race.
Scott and his daughter Mallory high-tailed it to Minnesota as one of the X-Cup teams, with Scott’s father Jim in tow as their support crew. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. Five years later, and several years after moving from X-Cup (for high school and college students) to the Sportsman Division, Scott and Mallory were fixtures on the Great Race. However, Scott became ill with cancer in 2017, but nothing was going to keep him from the 2018 Great Race. Ultimately, he was awarded the event’s highest honor – the Tom McRae Spirit of the Event Award after he helped save a competitor’s vehicle from running off a mountain road after brake failure. In October, Scott lost his battle with cancer, but he will always be a part of the Great Race family.
And in his honor, the Great Race’s X-Cup Division will now be known as the “Scott Henderson X-Cup Division” and the scholarship program will be called the “Scott Henderson X-Cup Scholarship.” The scholarship program is run through the Antique Automobile Club of America, and it provides scholarships to X-Cuppers to further their career in the automotive industry. After awarding scholarships the last couple of years, the fund had dwindled to zero, but a $2,000 gift has been made to kick off the 2019 campaign. Scott, Mallory and Jim’s home region, the Deep South Region of AACA, are also helping to make the scholarship successful. Mallory is now in her third year at Auburn University and is very close to X-Cup teams from across the country who have competed in the event in the last five years.
Great Racers who wish to make a donation to the Scott Henderson X-Cup Scholarship Fund may do so by mailing your 501(c)(3) donation to: AACA X-Cup Scholarship Fund AACA National Headquarters 501 W. Governor Road PO Box 417 Hershey, PA 17033. Please make sure to have the words “X-Cup” in the “For” line of your check. For any additional information, please contact Jeff Stumb at [email protected] or at 423-648-8542.
Scott and his daughter Mallory have been an important part of the X-Cup Division for many years. Bringing youth into vintage cars is vital to the long term future of the cars we all love. Mallory grew to become an accomplished competitor with their 64-1/2 Mustang, and Scott was a great mentor to Mallory as well as the other youth X-Cup teams.
The Scott Henderson X-Cup Scholarship lives on to assist young X-Cup Team members who have chosen to continue their advanced automotive education. Your support of the Scholarship is supporting our youth, who will be the ones to carry Great Race forward when it becomes our turn to watch.
What a great father-daughter team. I met them their first year when Mallory would clean my windshield at each stop for $1. Not only were they father-daughter team they were best friends.
I am thrilled beyond words to read of this important addition to the X-Cup Division. Scott meant the world to me; he and Mallory have represented the epitome of what it is to be Great Racers. I know that at each town/city/state and or province that we have visited, “MotorMouth” has challenged host committees to involve youth to become Great Racers. It truly is a life altering experience! Mallory & family, you must be thrilled!
I’m so very proud of my nephew Scott Henderson and Mallory. Thanks so very much for honoring him in such special way. I know he is looking down from heaven and smiling for such a great cause. Having Mallory come onboard as a teen makes this even more special. This honor makes all of us in the family so grateful.