A Salute to Black Racing Drivers

In honor of Black History Month, we salute six drivers who helped break down the color barrier in a predominantly white man's sport.

1. Charlie Scott — His one appearance in NASCAR’s top division came in 1956, when he tackled the Beach Road Course at Daytona Beach, Fla. Driving for the famed Chrysler team owned by Carl Kiekhafter, Scott started 14th and finished 19th.

2. Wendell Scott — The inspiration for the movie “Greased Lightning,” Scott raced in NASCAR’s premier ranks from 1961-72. He is the only black driver to win at that level, finishing first on Dec. 1, 1963, on a half-mile dirt track in Jacksonville, Fla. Buck Baker was originally declared the winner, but Scott protested: “I lapped Buck three times.” Four hours later, after poring over the scoring cards, NASCAR officials discovered that Scott had passed Richard Petty for the lead on lap 176 of a 200-lap race. Four hours after the checkered flag had flown, NASCAR declared Scott the winner by two laps. Nearly all of the 5,000 spectators had left the track by the time the decision was announced.

Scott died Dec. 22, 1990, after a long battle with spinal cancer. He was later elected to the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala.

3. George Wiltshire — Made two starts, completing only two laps of the 1971 Islip (N.Y.) 250 and “flagged” out of the 1975 Purolator 500 at Pocono, Pa., for running too slow.

4. Randy Bethea — A former Tennessee state champion, the Johnson City native made his NASCAR start in the 1975 World 600 at Charlotte. Driving a car owned by D.K. Ulrich, Bethea started 39th in a 40-car field and finished 33rd. Two years earlier, Bethea had outrun Darrell Waltrip to win the pole position for a NASCAR Late Model race at Nashville.

5. Willy T. Ribbs — A winning Trans-Am road course racer, Ribbs was never able to sustain a NASCAR career. Once ticketed in Charlotte for driving the wrong way on a one-way street, Ribbs made three NASCAR starts in 1986 for DiGard Racing. He finished 22nd at North Wilkesboro, 29th at Riverside, Calif., and 39th at Brooklyn, Mich. He competed in 23 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events for Bobby Hamilton Racing in 2001, never finishing better than 13th and never leading a lap.

6. Bill Lester — An electrical engineering/computer science graduate of California-Berkeley, Lester’s been a full-time Truck racer since 2002. He’s won three pole positions and twice finished as high as fifth, with a best points finish of 14th. Lester will pursue the 2007 Truck title for Billy Ballew Motorsports. Last year, Lester became the first black since Ribbs to qualify for a Cup race, making fields at Atlanta and Michigan, finishing 38th and 32nd.

Ones to watch

Chris Bristol — Returns to the Drive for Diversity program for the second season and will race in NASCAR’s Grand National East division for Fitz Motorsports. Bristol made history in 2004 when he became the first black driver to win at Hickory Motor Speedway. He’s a native of Columbus, Ohio.

Marc Davis — Davis, 16, is a high school student from Mitchellville, Md., who won six times last year at Hickory in the Limited Late Model division. He’s part of the Joe Gibbs Racing Drive for Diversity team. He’ll tackle the full Grand National East schedule and run selected Grand National West shows.

NASCAR NEWS:

 
 

Is diversity drive on track?

 

Start-up costs are a big obstacle for minority teams in NASCAR.

 

DON COBLE, The Times-Union

DAYTONA BEACH - At 5-feet-7, Terance Mathis beat the odds to play in 205 games in 13 years in the NFL. While that work ethic helped him earn trips to the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, it hasn't helped him get a race team up to speed in two years of trying.

He isn't alone.

In the past four years, several high-profile people from sports and entertainment have talked about joining NASCAR. The sanctioning body has put many of them on display, hoping to give its diversity program some legs. But for the most part, it has turned into a daunting task.

On the surface, it should be an easy sell. A high-profile owner and a chance to break the color barrier in a sport that's trying desperately to chip away at its all-white perception should have corporate America ready to come aboard. But Mathis, like so many before him, have learned it's not that easy.

"I'm still battling the battle," Mathis said. "The reason this isn't easy is because unlike other sports, where the whole league makes sure you're on the right path, in NASCAR you're on your own. It needs to be fixed."

While Mathis continues to struggle to find funding, Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith, actor/comedians Tommy Davidson, Damon Wayans, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans will have a car on the track this year. Their No. 06 Ford is scheduled to make its debut in the Busch Series race at Mexico City on March 4. Others, such as Mathis, former NFL receiver Tim Brown, actor/rapper Nelly and track and field star Jackie Joyner-Kersee are still looking.

NASCAR's structure makes it different than other sports. The organization is a collection of racetracks, not race teams, that offer a variety of races each week. Independent contractors are welcomed at any race.

Because of that, NASCAR can only offer limited support during the start-up period. It can provide overall demographics, but it doesn't create and share sponsorship leads, said Marcus Jadotte, NASCAR's managing director for public affairs.

In fact, the sanctioning body competes against prospective car owners because it's always looking to add to its list of official sponsors. Heading into the Feb. 18 season-opening Daytona 500, NASCAR will have more than 70 sponsors. Mathis has none.

"There are no barriers in our sport, unlike other sports," Jadotte said. "The start-up cost in our sport, while it's certainly not trivial, isn't as much as other sports. The door's wide open. I'm thrilled to see the level of interest from diverse backgrounds. It's a great thing for NASCAR."

 

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach hit the same roadblocks as Mathis when they decided to join Bill Saunders to build Hall of Fame Racing. It took nearly three years for that group to break ground and find sponsorship to make their car, the No. 96 Chevrolet driven by Tony Raines, a reality.

Jadotte said that proves NASCAR really is colorblind.

"It takes time to build a professional sports team of any kind," he said. "We saw that in Aikman-Staubach. It's a lot of hard work."

Saunders agreed.

He said even with Aikman and Staubach on his team, they made more than 150 formal presentations before Texas Instruments decided to write a check.

"It is extremely difficult for anybody to do this. I don't care who you are," Saunders said.

NASCAR's rules also make it difficult for start-up teams. Teams ranked in the top 35 from the previous season have automatic exemptions into the starting lineups during the first five races of the season. Everyone else is left to fight for the final seven spots in each race. After five races, the top 35 teams continue to earn a provisional exemptions; the rest are left to fight for the leftovers.

The collaboration between Smith, Davidson, the Wayans brothers and managing partner Sean Holley took more than two years to become a reality. They are starting smaller by making selected appearances in the Busch Series. But like the rest, their ultimate goal is to someday run with the best cars in the Nextel Cup.

Holley, an attorney who represents several professional athletes, has been around NASCAR for 15 years. He knows there's never been a black managing partner in the Nextel Cup series. He hopes to become the first.

"It's not easy, that's for sure," Holley said, "but I didn't enter this being naive. It's taken a long time. There's a strong misconception about NASCAR diversity. The truth is, NASCAR has open arms. This sport is about sponsorship. The only color that counts is green - the color of money."

Until Mathis finds a sponsor, his team remains nothing more than a dream.

"I'm not looking for a handout," he said. "NASCAR probably gets calls every day from somebody who is looking to get involved in this sport. They could help out as much as they really want. I've sat down with NASCAR numerous times, and it's all the same. They love you're here and they want you in the sport. But they don't write checks.

"I don't necessarily want to be a poster child for diversity in NASCAR. I want to be like everyone else. I want to get the right people, the right equipment and be a success in this sport."

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