Greased Lightning

In 1930s Danville, Virginia, an African American boy named Wendell Scott impresses a group of white boys with his bike-riding prowess. Fifteen years later, Wendell returns to Danville after serving in the Army during World War II. His family welcomes him home with a party and he takes an immediate liking to a guest, Mary Jones. Later, Wendell tells his mother he does not want to work in the cotton mill and plans to use his muster pay to buy a taxicab, eventually open a garage, and be his own boss. As Wendell and Mary begin dating, Wendell tells Mary's family that his real dream is be a champion racecar driver, but they do not take him seriously. Sometime later, Wendell takes Mary to an old racetrack in his new taxicab to propose, and they make love. Soon after, they are married and move into a house, but Wendell struggles to make money. One day, he sees a bootlegger named Slack and asks for a job. On his first night, he discovers his best friend, Peewee, is already working for Slack and they narrowly evade Sheriff Cotton and his men. Although Wendell is thrilled to drive fast for a living, Mary is not happy with Wendell's new profession. He insists that he tried to make money legally and this is the only way he can buy the garage. Five years later, Sheriff Cotton has still been unable to apprehend Wendell, but he captures Slack in a raid. On Easter Sunday, Wendell takes over one of Slack's runs, but soon realizes it is a set-up when he is arrested. Billy Joe Byrnes, the local automobile racetrack owner, makes Cotton and Wendell a proposition: if Wendell agrees to race at Byrnes' track, twelve of the fifteen charges against him will be dropped, and he will receive probation. All Wendell needs to do is cross the finish line. Byrnes promotes Wendell as the first black stock car driver and on race day, there is a large multiracial crowd. During the contest, the white drivers run Wendell off the track, but he manages to complete the race and secure his freedom. Having di