THE speedway fraternity is paying tribute to a car owner who "would do it his way" and was known for his generosity.
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Mount Gambier-based Ray Scott, who was born in 1950, passed away on Monday.
He ran the Scott Transport 55 sprintcar with son Ash, often travelling to Warrnambool to compete at Premier Speedway.
American-based Australian Brooke Tatnell was the most recent driver to jump in the red, white and blue race car for the family-run team.
The three-time Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic winner said Scott "would be the first person to step up and help someone" and "wore his heart on his sleeve" in a heartfelt tribute.
"My family's hearts are broken today as we received the news that the world has lost one of the most generous, loving and caring men I have ever met," Tatnell wrote on his Facebook page.
"A tough task master, outspoken and never afraid to overstep the boundaries or offend you if he felt it necessary.
"A hard old-school worker that if there was a problem with no immediate answer (would) just work through it till it's solved.
"He was a control freak wanting it done his way and he would do it his way even if it meant doing it himself and on his time frame."
Tatnell, whose family spent last Christmas with the Scott clan, said he felt part of their family.
"He loved his family. His family is huge because if you worked for him you were family, if you were a friend you were family," he said.
"He was one of the first to reach out to me when my Dad (George) passed, he would tear up every time he would talk to me about my dad even on our last conversation.
"I'm going to miss our phone calls. I'm going to miss my mate. I miss his jokes and sense of humour. Nescafé coffee sales will go down.
"I will always cherish our friendship and will always remember leaving his kitchen to fly home and having him hug me, tearing up as he told me he loved me like a son.
"It was a perfect moment if I could only get past the fact that all he had on was his tighty white underwear."
Premier Speedway general manager David Mills said Scott was part of the sprintcar family.
"One thing about speedway, even though we're from far-flung places, we can be a tight-knit family," he told The Standard. "It comes with being a niche sport."
Mills echoed Tatnell's thoughts, describing Scott as someone who "did things his way".
"Ray was one of those guys who was very passionate about it," he said.
"I have amazing respect for what he did as a car owner and before that as a competitor.
"He came into the sport fairly late compared to a lot of people and unfortunately an injury sustained here curtailed his racing.
"He delved into the car ownership side of things and along with Ash driving for a period of time.
"They've had a lot of good guys in that car - Tim Kaeding, Randy Hannagan and more recently Brooke Tatnell and Pete Murphy drove for them as well."
Mills said Scott helped elevate sprintcars.
"As a general manager of a venue or a promoter of a venue, without those guys the sport is really nothing," he said.
"If we don't have car owners in the ilk of Ray Scott, we don't have much. It becomes very much a hobby-driven sport and doesn't have the star-billing we crave.
"I think as a club Premier Speedway has received some great support from Ray over the journey as well, always very accommodating with his time, a very generous man."
Mills said Scott was "always willing to lend a hand".
"That was the one thing that stood out to me - he'd nearly offer his assistance before it was required," he reflected.