INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 6) - NASCAR's top series could soon have its first African-American driver in nearly 20 years, as Bill Lester and team owner Bill Davis have discussed the possibility of putting Lester in a Nextel Cup car later this season. "We've kicked it around, definitely," Lester said Saturday.
Lester, 44, has been a regular in NASCAR's Craftsman Trucks Series - stock car racing's equivalent to Class AA baseball - since 2002. If he qualified for a Cup race, he would become the first African-American driver to race in NASCAR's top series since Willy T. Ribbs, who ran three races in 1986.
Lester said he has made it clear to Davis that his goal is to race in the Nextel Cup, and Davis has been receptive. "It's just a matter of all the planets lining up," Lester said.
According to Buz McKim, NASCAR's coordinator of statistical services, eight non-white drivers have competed in NASCAR's top series. The most successful was Wendell Scott, who made 494 starts between 1961 and 1973, finishing in the top 10 147 times and winning a race in Jacksonville in 1963. There also have been 15 female drivers in NASCAR's top series.
As NASCAR has emerged from its Southeastern roots over the past decade, there has been growing attention paid to the sport's lack of diversity. In response, NASCAR officials have encouraged corporate sponsorship of young minority drivers racing at grassroots short tracks. They have spoken of trying to get more minority-owned businesses involved in racing.
They also hired former NBA star Magic Johnson as a consultant last year; Johnson has built a reputation as a minority business magnate in retirement, although his role in NASCAR remains somewhat unclear.
Still, confederate flags dot the infield at many racetracks. An overwhelming majority of the fans are white. And Lester is the only African-American driver racing in NASCAR's top three series.
That makes Lester unique, but it's hardly the only thing that makes him unique.
A graduate of the University of California-Berkley with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, Lester quit a high-paying job at Hewlett-Packard in the late 1990s to pursue his hobby, sports-car racing, full time.
He ran his first NASCAR race in 1999, a Busch Series race on the road course in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Bobby Hamilton hired him to drive in the trucks series in 2002 and he moved to Davis' team last season.
So far, Lester has shown speed but hasn't achieved consistent good finishes. He ranks 18th in the trucks series points standings this season, qualifying on the pole for two races but finishing in the top five only once.
Whereas I'm all for the diversity program and encourage it, I can't see how his talents or driving skills have earned him the right to jump over Busch and start competing at the Cup level. (I think its more like throwing a sacrificial lamb to the wolves.)
I agree with you guys. The down fall of this country is not hiring on merit. You should have the best person in the job. Not the best female or black or Indian or what ever just the best person available for the job at that time. Plus Lester has not been burning up the track the last time I looked.
well of the bill davis drivers ive seen i have to admit that lester is the best of them but still there are many others that are better than he is the whole bill davis organization isnt good and maybe the better driver might help them figure out their cars
