 | | Bill Lester has drawn the media's attention all weekend at Atlanta. Credit: Autostock |
By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
March 20, 2006
05:22 PM EST (22:22 GMT)
HAMPTON, Ga. -- Most of the drivers for Sunday's Nextel Cup race relaxed in motorcoaches with cozy couches and cable television as a steady rain fell over Atlanta Motor Speedway. Not Bill Lester. He hung out in the garage with members of his crew in the back of an old hauler with few frills. "Man, I'm from the Craftsman Truck Series,'' Lester said with a laugh. "We don't have motorcoaches.'' Lester's attempt to become the first black driver to start a Cup race since Willy T. Ribbs 20 years ago suffered a minor setback when rain postponed Sunday's Golden Corral 500 until Monday morning (11 a.m. ET, FX). The forecast doesn't look much better for then, but Lester's spirits weren't dampened. "If it had rained on Friday I would have been bitterly disappointed,'' said Lester, who guaranteed his place in history by qualifying 19th on Friday. "The fact that it's raining now, whatever. The fact of the matter is I'm going to be in the race when the race occurs.'' Since Lester drove his No. 23 Dodge into the 43-car field the phones at Championship Group, the sports marketing group that married sponsor Waste Management with Bill Davis Racing, have rung off the hook with calls from potential sponsors. Valvoline jumped on board late last week. Company president Ardy Arani said there's a good chance Lester will run three to five more than the previously scheduled races -- Atlanta, Michigan and California -- that Waste Management and Bill Davis were committed. "There's a couple of full voicemail boxes back at the office,'' Arani said of the calls from potential sponsors. "If this goes well we could be at Texas [on April 9].'' Arani said the plan is to run as many races as the 45-year-old Cup rookie can fit around his full-time ride in the Truck Series without racing at restrictor-plate tracks in Daytona and Talladega or any of the half-mile tracks. But the bigger picture is to have Lester prepared for next season when BDR fields two teams for newcomer Toyota, which will introduce the Camry to NASCAR. "All of this is pointing towards 2007 when the game plan is for him to be a Nextel Cup driver without a second job in the Truck Series,'' Arani said. "Marketing is second to Bill's racing career.'' Setback? Among those cheering for Lester to break down color barriers is seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty. Petty wasn't a big fan of Ribbs.  |  | | Bill Lester qualified 19th with a speed of 190.502 mph. Credit: Autostock |
| |
| 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 |
|
|
"He didn't respect what he was trying to get done,'' Petty said. "He was too much of an individual, just after what he could get done and he was using his background and his color to try to get there with it. "From the standpoint of his ability he wouldn't have been there if he hadn't been black. He wasn't as good as a lot of other people that didn't get there. And this is one man's opinion.'' But that opinion is shared by others. One NASCAR official said Ribbs was a "legend in his own mind,'' thinking he deserved to be in one of the top cars because of his color and not his talent. Jim Graham, a former black crew chief and car owner that helped get Ribbs into NASCAR, understands. "He was too boisterous,'' Graham said of Ribbs. "He was too outspoken. He came out like Muhammad Ali, running his mouth and saying things he shouldn't have said. "In NASCAR you've got to be humble. In order to get respect you've got to give respect. Willie didn't respect the public. He didn't respect the position he was in.'' Graham said Ribbs, who could not be reached, still holds a grudge against NASCAR and may have played a small part in setting back the diversity movement 20 years ago. Petty agreed, adding had someone like Lester come along after Wendell Scott broke the color barriers in the 1960s there may not have been the wide gap after Ribbs. "He's like Wendell Scott,'' Petty said of Lester. "Wendell just showed up and says, 'Here I am. Don't look at me for my color. I'll do my job.' That was what all the drivers and all the owners in NASCAR really appreciated about him. "There wasn't any diversity deal.'' "I am Bill Lester'' Lester has left several phone messages for Ribbs, but none have been returned. The friendship they once shared hasn't been the same since Lester replaced Ribbs in the Truck Series in 2002. "My understanding is he's through with racing,'' Lester said. "He's a marksman now. He shoots rifles, supposedly competitively.'' A graduate of Cal Berkeley with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, Lester is as far from Ribbs' brash personality as Tony Stewart is soft-spoken. He's humbled by the attention and would choose not to have it given a choice. "I'm just the way I am,'' Lester said. "What you see is what you get. I'm just fortunate to get to live my dream. I've been given a very rare and unique opportunity, and I'm trying to make the best of it. "I don't know what Willy may or may not have done, so I can't comment on that. That's Willy T. Ribbs. I am Bill Lester.'' Lester wasn't playing off the "I am Tiger Woods'' phrase that swept the sports world when Woods burst onto the PGA scene in 1996. He indeed is overwhelmed by the attention, which according to his PR staff included more than 300 stories worldwide over the last 48 hours. "I didn't expect this,'' Lester said. "I never would have thought somebody would have sat up and cared.'' Graham was one of the many to stop by Lester's hauler on Sunday. He wore pants with "Wendell Scott 34'' stitched on one leg and "Jim Graham 08'' stitched on the other. He carried the same message above the pockets of his shirt. "I'm going to add Bill's name and number all over the front,'' Graham said. Graham believes what Lester is doing will be a big step in bringing more blacks into the predominantly white NASCAR on and off the track. "Why I'm here today is to support Bill and make sure people [of his race] know all you have to do is come cheer and ain't nobody in the stands going to do nothing to you,'' Graham said. Lester said such support has come from all over the country from people he doesn't know. So far, he said with a laugh, no calls from Woods or Michael Jordan. "Maybe they just couldn't get through,'' he added. "My voicemail box is full.'' Lester had hoped his Sunday would be full. He was hoping the second half of the day would be like the first, full of new experiences such as his first Cup drivers' meeting with stars such as David Spade and Rob Schneider. "There's obviously a whole lot more excitement than any other race day I've been a part of,'' he said. "Just being in the drivers' meeting, the room being filled to capacity ... It's three times the number that would be in a Truck race, and three times the amount of excitement and support.'' The worst part of the rainout was finding out his parents had to fly back to California, where his dad has to teach chemistry at the University of Berkeley. "I was looking forward to racing, but then I looked at the Weather Channel and it didn't look promising,'' Lester said. "The bottom line is whenever we go I'm ready.'' | 
