BDR's Lester to qualify for Cup race at Atlanta

ATLANTA -- Bill Lester will pilot the No. 23 Nextel Cup entry for Bill Davis Racing at Atlanta. He'll be the first black driver to attempt to qualify for a Cup Series race in 20 years.

Before this week, the last black to start a Cup event was Willy T. Ribbs at Michigan on June 15, 1986. Prior to that, George Wiltshire and Randy Bethea each had a run at a Cup race in 1975.

	Inside the Numbers Bill Lester's NCTS stats Year Races W T5 T10 2000 1 0 0 0 2001 5 0 0 0 2002 22 0 0 0 2003 25 0 0 1 2004 25 0 0 1 2005 25 0 2 4 2006 2 0 0 0 Totals 105 0 2 6 Making historyLester will attempt to qualify for Cup race at Atlanta Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Previously, Wendell Scott started 495 times in NASCAR's premier series and remains the only black driver to win a Cup race, at Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 1, 1963.

Lester was the first black driver to compete in a Busch Series event in 1999, the first to start a Craftsman Truck Series race in 2000, the first to win a pole for a modern-era NASCAR race in 2003, the first to win $1 million in NASCAR, and the first to lead a top division NASCAR race in more than two decades.

"Bill Lester's accomplishments on and off the track make us very proud to have him as an ambassador for our company," said David Steiner, CEO of Waste Management, which has supported Lester since 2004.

Waste Management has played a significant role in the support of NASCAR's diversity efforts. The company has been a key supporter of Drive for Diversity, the flagship program putting women and minority competitors on the racetrack, and underwriter of the documentary Black Wheels, a film that chronicles eye-opening achievements of blacks in auto racing from the mid-1920s to present as well as today's momentum in diversifying motorsports.

Matt Kenseth gave the company a victory in 2005, driving the No. 17 Waste Management car in the Busch Series, and Sterling Marlin has taken up the mantle in 2006, driving the No. 14 Chevrolet in the Cup Series.

The company also sponsors Jesus Hernandez and Allison Duncan, two terrific up-and-comers driving under the Drive for Diversity banner in the Dodge Weekly Racing Series.

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Lester's inaugural Cup qualifying run will be at 7:10 p.m. Friday, just after his Craftsman Truck Series qualifier at 5:10 p.m. and before the Craftsman Truck Series Race at 9:10 p.m.

"To say I am proud and honored to have this company behind me is an understatement," Lester said. "Their commitment to diversity, alone, is laudable, but the fact that they really believe in me and support me so thoroughly is really meaningful.

Getting to know their employees and values has made me feel like a part of their family, and I couldn't think of a better partner to join me in this momentous opportunity."