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Black driver takes run at NASCAR(Sacramento Bee, The (CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 17--Related Information When he climbs into the No. 23 Dodge today at Atlanta Motor Speedway, driver Bill Lester won't mind carrying the extra weight of history. "Nobody is more excited than I am," said Lester, reached by phone in Atlanta. Lester, a former Hewlett-Packard engineer from Oakland, will be the first African American driver in 20 years to attempt to qualify for a NASCAR Nextel Cup race. Just making the show would be a significant victory for Lester, a regular competitor in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck series. It represents one more step toward his goal: to see NASCAR Nation reflect the real America. "There are a lot of black people out there who are closet NASCAR fans," Lester said. "They feel uncomfortable about coming to the racetrack because it's hard to identify with anyone there. I'm in a position to change that." Driving in a Cup race - NASCAR's elite showcase - has been a lifelong dream for the 45-year-old Lester, a UC Berkeley graduate who switched gears from computers to cars. "I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth," he said. "I knew I needed an education. Auto racing always was my passion. But I had to find a way to pay for it." Lester financed his early racing pursuits in sports cars, competing at several Northern California tracks before finding the financial backing for NASCAR. It took 14 years to make the move up to the national circuit. The response to Lester's Cup try has been "extremely positive," he said. "The amount of support has been overwhelming. My e-mail box blew up from so many messages, the phone keeps ringing off the hook. It's absolutely enormous and very touching." As the only black driver who regularly competes in any of NASCAR's top three national touring series, Lester already has compiled an impressive list of milestones: * First African American to compete in a Busch Series race (1999). * First African American to win pole position in a modern-era NASCAR race (2003). * First African American to lead a top-division race in more than 20 years. * First African American driver to pass $1 million in career earnings in NASCAR history. Lester's legacy runs counter to NASCAR Nation's stereotypical image. With deep Southern roots, the sport and its fans have long carried a reputation as a haven for good ol' white boys with a league of their own. As NASCAR has grown in national popularity, organizers have tried to shed that Bubba baggage. But the majority of the drivers who compete regularly in the Nextel Cup look much the same. Now 58 years old, NASCAR recently launched "Drive for Diversity," a program to bring more women and minorities into racing jobs. NASCAR estimates that 9 percent of its fans are African American. Lester supports that effort. "They realize that truly to be a national sport, they should reflect the whole country," Lester said of NASCAR. "I see myself as a race-car driver, but I also realize I have a unique opportunity and responsibility to make a change so when I look up at the stands, there are more people who look like me." NASCAR's zooming popularity has been a boon to advertisers, who make Cup cars look like speeding billboards. Adding a black driver should not lessen the sports' appeal to sponsors, say experts. "It could only be beneficial," said Lynn Kahle of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. "It would expand interest and potentially bring in new fans. People who want to root for a particular white driver can still do that, but integrating the sport can only help sponsors. "Look what Tiger Woods did for golf," he added. "Baseball survived integration; basketball survived it; and so will NASCAR." Lester has been the lone black driver in the Craftsman Trucks series since his debut in 2000. This season is his fifth with a full truck schedule, driving the No. 22 Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing. That same team fields the No. 23 Cup car along with Dave Blaney's No. 22. Waste Management, Lester's truck sponsor, also will sponsor his Dodge Charger. "Waste Management has nearly 30,000 drivers and this week, one is poised to drive into NASCAR history," said Waste Management President Larry O'Donnell, in making the announcement. Based in Houston, Waste Management has been a big backer of NASCAR's diversity program, sponsoring Lester along with developmental drivers Jesus Hernandez and Allison Duncan. The company underwrote the 2005 documentary, "Black Wheels," about the achievements of African Americans in motor sports. Willy T. Ribbs was the last black driver to race in the then-Winston Cup, qualifying for three races in 1986. In NASCAR's early years, Wendell Scott competed in 495 Cup events over 13 seasons and became the only African American driver to win a Cup race Dec. 1, 1963, at Jacksonville, Fla. But Scott was not allowed to celebrate in victory lane. Due to what was termed a "scoring error," race officials mistakenly waved the checkered flag for Buck Baker - who was running two laps behind Scott - and presented Baker the trophy. Scott protested and, hours after the race, officials agreed he had won. Until his death from spinal cancer in 1990, Scott contended that the only mistake made was racism. A few months after that lone victory, Scott skipped a race in Atlanta because the Ku Klux Klan threatened to make problems at the track had he raced. Now, Atlanta officials welcome Lester. In a metropolitan area with more than 1.3 million blacks, Atlanta Motor Speedway President Ed Clark encouraged the driver to try to qualify at his track. This weekend's Golden Corral 500 became the right race at the right place. "This is my hometown now," Lester said of Atlanta. "I'll definitely have a large rooting section of friends and family. My parents are flying in from Oakland. It's definitely a track that suits my driving style - very fast and high-banked." Lester will contend for one of nine "open" slots in the 43-car field. "I'm extremely confident we'll make a strong run, but we're not locked in," Lester added. "We have to qualify on time. Last time I checked, there were 17 cars shooting for nine spots. It's going to be dog-eat-dog." This won't be a one-shot deal. Waste Management agreed to sponsor Lester's Cup car at Michigan Speedway for the Michigan 400 on June 18 and at Fontana's California Speedway for the Sony HD 500 on Sept. 3. There's a possibility Lester could race full time in the Cup if the sponsorship agrees. "If we do well, I expect we'll add more races," Lester said. "This could be just the beginning." |