Phoenix, Ariz. (November 13, 2011) - The State of Arizona officially proclaimed Sunday, November 13, 2011, "Scott Bates Day" in honor of the disabled veteran who realized his dream of designing a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series paint scheme.
A representative of Gov. Jan Brewer's office presented the proclamation to Bates before Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.
Front Row Motorsports, J.J. Yeley, and Vampt Beverage Corp. helped make the former U.S. Marine's dream come true when they invited the disabled veteran to create Yeley's No. 38 Ford Fusion paint scheme for the event and hosted Bates and his family at the race. As the event got closer, the state government heard about Bates' story and wanted to make the Veterans' Day weekend even more special for him.
Bates, of Muskogee, Okla., took up graphic design when multiple sclerosis left him confined to a wheelchair and unable to use his arms. A head-controlled mouse allows him to operate the program in which he creates his designs. A sensor atop his computer screen picks up his head movements, allowing him to choose colors, shapes, shades and strokes.
>>> SEE "MEDIA TOOLS" AT RIGHT: Photos of Bates at race and Governor's proclamation, video of Scott Bates creating paint scheme at home, video of car being wrapped, audio from Yeley on Bates
"God took away one of my abilities to show me a new way," Bates said about learning graphic design. "I never would have taken the time to learn what I've learned if I hadn't been sitting in this chair and had to retrain myself to do something to occupy my time. I couldn't bear just sitting and watching TV or surfing the Internet. I wanted to do something."
After years of designing racecar templates for video games, Bates finally got to see one of his designs on a real racecar when he did a paint scheme for an ARCA car. But that car wrecked in practice and never made it to race day.
The 48-year-old artist still had one wish: to see one of his designs on an actual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car. He told his story to motorsports writer Becca Gladden, who wrote about his dream. When malt beverage maker and Front Row sponsor Vampt read about Bates, they found it only fitting to help him realize his dream on Veterans Day weekend when the company was sponsoring Yeley's No. 38 in Phoenix.
Bates is active on Twitter (@ernhrtfan) and looks forward to recapping his big weekend for his followers and also possibly gaining some new ones.
Related story: Disabled Veteran Designs NASCAR Paint Scheme in 'Dream Come True'