Bill Lester
Encyclopedia
William Alexander Lester III (born February 6, 1961) is a racing driver who competes in the Grand Touring category in the Rolex Sports Car Series
for Autohaus Motorsports. In 1984, he earned a Bachelor of Science
degree in EECS
from the University of California, Berkeley
. Fresh out of college, he worked at Hewlett-Packard
for a few years before deciding he wanted to focus on auto racing.
Until 2007, he competed full-time in the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series
, being at the time the only African-American competing full-time in a NASCAR circuit. He also participated in a number of Sprint Cup races. From 2008 - 2010, he competed in the Daytona Prototype
category in the Rolex Sports Car Series
.
series. He made his IMSA debut in 1989 at Sears Point International Raceway, qualifying ninth and finishing 12th in a Chevrolet Camaro
. He also picked up a victory that year in an endurance race at Sears Point. In 1990, he began running the SCCA, running an unsponsored Oldsmobile Cutlass
for Rocketsports at Portland
, and one race for Tom Gloy
at Mid-Ohio
. He did not race professionally again until 1996, running SCCA events at Watkins Glen, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
, Sears Point, and Reno, Nevada
. He competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona
in 1998 and 1999, finishing fifth and tenth, respectively.
race, when he ran at Watkins Glen in the #8 Dura Lube
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
owned by Bobby Hillin, Jr.
. He started 24th and ran near a top-ten most of the day before an accident relegated him back to 21st. The next season, he made his Craftsman Truck debut at Portland, starting 31st and finishing 24th in the #23 Red Line Oil
truck owned by Team 23 Racing. He also competed against Bobby Norfleet
in that race, marking the only time in NASCAR two African-Americans have competed in the same race. He ran 5 races the next season in the #4 for Bobby Hamilton Racing
, his best finish an eighteenth at Phoenix International Raceway
.
In 2002, he ran in the Craftsman Truck series full-time for Hamilton. While he did not finish in the top-ten, he had sixteen finishes between 11th-18th, leading to a seventeenth place points finish and runner-up to Brendan Gaughan
for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year. The next season, he grabbed his first career pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway
and had a tenth-place run at Kansas Speedway
, garnering a 14th place finish in the championship standings.
He switched over to Bill Davis Racing
in 2004. He had a best finish of tenth and finished 22nd in points. In 2005, he won two consecutive poles, and had his first top-five finishes. Lester raced in his first Nextel Cup race in the Golden Corral 500
at Atlanta Motor Speedway
, driving the #23 Waste Management Dodge Charger
for Davis in 2006. The race was supposed to be run on March 19, but was postponed for a day due to rain. He qualified 19th, becoming the first African-American to make a Cup race since 1986, and the sixth in series history. He finished 38th, six laps down. He ran another race that season at Michigan, finishing 32nd.
After failing to finish in the top-ten in 2006, Lester departed Davis to drive the #15 Billy Ballew Motorsports
Chevy. His best finish was an eighth at Kentucky, when he stepped out of the truck due to sponsor problems. He left NASCAR racing at the end of 2007.
In 2008, Lester drove the #3 Riley Daytona Prototype
for Southard Motorsports in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
, partnering with Shane Lewis. He moved to Flying Lizard Motorsports
for 2009, finishing 3rd at the summer Daytona race. The next year, Lester moved to a new team in Starworks Motorsport driving the #7 BMW Riley for the full season, finishing 17th in points.
For 2011, Lester moved to the GT category with Autohaus Motorsports and their Chevrolet Camaro
team. On May 14, 2011, Lester made sports car history by becoming the first African-American driver to win in any Grand-Am division. Ironically, Lester won at the famed Virginia International Raceway
, located close to the home of NASCAR's only African-American winner, Wendell Scott
.
with his wife Cheryl, and their son William Alexander IV (Alex).
Rolex Sports Car Series
The Rolex Sports Car Series is the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It is a North American-based sports car series that was founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship...
for Autohaus Motorsports. In 1984, he earned a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in EECS
EECS
EECS may refer to:* Electrical Engineering & Computer Science* European Energy Certificate System...
from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Fresh out of college, he worked at Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
for a few years before deciding he wanted to focus on auto racing.
Until 2007, he competed full-time in the NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Craftsman Truck Series
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing...
, being at the time the only African-American competing full-time in a NASCAR circuit. He also participated in a number of Sprint Cup races. From 2008 - 2010, he competed in the Daytona Prototype
Daytona Prototype
A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, replacing contemporary open cockpit sports cars, specifically Sports Racing Prototypes...
category in the Rolex Sports Car Series
Rolex Sports Car Series
The Rolex Sports Car Series is the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It is a North American-based sports car series that was founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship...
.
Early racing career
He began racing in the road course circuits, running in the SCCA and IMSAInternational Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
series. He made his IMSA debut in 1989 at Sears Point International Raceway, qualifying ninth and finishing 12th in a Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...
. He also picked up a victory that year in an endurance race at Sears Point. In 1990, he began running the SCCA, running an unsponsored Oldsmobile Cutlass
Oldsmobile Cutlass
The Oldsmobile Cutlass is a line of automobiles made by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The Cutlass began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greatest success as a body-on-frame intermediate car....
for Rocketsports at Portland
Portland International Raceway
Portland International Raceway is located in Portland, Oregon, USA's, Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It is west of a light rail station and less than a mile west of Interstate 5....
, and one race for Tom Gloy
Tom Gloy
Tom Gloy , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1980 and 1984 seasons, with 6 career starts, including the 1984 Indianapolis 500. Despite competing in only 3 events in 1980, he finished 14th in points, a result of finishing each race in the top ten.In 1979, Gloy...
at Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside of the village of Lexington...
. He did not race professionally again until 1996, running SCCA events at Watkins Glen, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Elkhart Lake is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, located within the northwestern part of the county within the Town of Rhine. The population was 1,021 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Sears Point, and Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
. He competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield...
in 1998 and 1999, finishing fifth and tenth, respectively.
NASCAR career
In 1999, he became the first African-American to run a Busch SeriesBusch Series
The NASCAR Nationwide Series is a stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing. It is promoted as NASCAR's "minor league" circuit, and is a proving ground for drivers who wish to step up to the organization's "big leagues"; the Sprint Cup circuit...
race, when he ran at Watkins Glen in the #8 Dura Lube
Dura lube
The Dura Lube Corporation was formed in 1986, originally concentrating on producing engine treatment products for trucks. It later extended its product line to include cars.-Controversy:...
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American-made two-door coupe introduced for model year 1970, and manufactured over six generations through model year 2007. It was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through most of its history, with the last model version being classified as a full-sized coupe...
owned by Bobby Hillin, Jr.
Bobby Hillin, Jr.
Bobby Hillin, Jr. , is an American stock car racecar driver. Hillin's love for racing began when he was a young boy watching his father's USAC Sprint and Indy cars race across the Midwest. At the age of 13, after a short period of racing go-karts and motocross, Hillin drove his first race car in...
. He started 24th and ran near a top-ten most of the day before an accident relegated him back to 21st. The next season, he made his Craftsman Truck debut at Portland, starting 31st and finishing 24th in the #23 Red Line Oil
Red Line Oil
Red Line Synthetic Oil Corporation is a company that produces a full range of synthetic lubricants.-History:Red Line was founded in 1979 by Tim Kerrigan and Peter Filice in Benicia, California....
truck owned by Team 23 Racing. He also competed against Bobby Norfleet
Bobby Norfleet
Bobby Norfleet is an African American race car driver. He has raced motorcycles, drag cars, and stock cars .-Crew member for Kulwicki's 1992 NASCAR championship:...
in that race, marking the only time in NASCAR two African-Americans have competed in the same race. He ran 5 races the next season in the #4 for Bobby Hamilton Racing
Bobby Hamilton Racing
Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia was a former NASCAR racing team. It was owned by four-time NEXTEL Cup winner and 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton until his death on January 7, 2007. Bobby Hamilton, Jr. was given ownership after the death of his father, but the younger...
, his best finish an eighteenth at Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...
.
In 2002, he ran in the Craftsman Truck series full-time for Hamilton. While he did not finish in the top-ten, he had sixteen finishes between 11th-18th, leading to a seventeenth place points finish and runner-up to Brendan Gaughan
Brendan Gaughan
Brendan Gaughan is an American stock car driver. Gaughan is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate. Gaughan currently drives the #62 South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota Tundra for Germain Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck...
for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year. The next season, he grabbed his first career pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...
and had a tenth-place run at Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. The speedway was built in 2001 and currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also raced at the speedway until 2011...
, garnering a 14th place finish in the championship standings.
He switched over to Bill Davis Racing
Bill Davis Racing
Bill Davis Racing was a racing team that participated in all three of NASCAR's top divisions until 2009.The team had run Toyota-branded stock cars and trucks in both the Camping World Truck Series and Sprint Cup Series since 2007. Dodge, Ford, and Pontiac previously backed the team...
in 2004. He had a best finish of tenth and finished 22nd in points. In 2005, he won two consecutive poles, and had his first top-five finishes. Lester raced in his first Nextel Cup race in the Golden Corral 500
Golden Corral 500
The Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup stock car race that was run every March at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia from 1960 until 2010...
at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway is a track just outside Hampton, Georgia, twenty miles south of Atlanta. It is a quad-oval track with a seating capacity of over 125,000. It opened in 1960 as a standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track...
, driving the #23 Waste Management Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger (LX)
The Dodge Charger LX is a rear-wheel drive four-door automobile introduced in February 2005. Built by Chrysler for its North American Dodge brand, the car was created to continue the Dodge Charger line, and replaced the Dodge Intrepid as Dodge's full-size sedan...
for Davis in 2006. The race was supposed to be run on March 19, but was postponed for a day due to rain. He qualified 19th, becoming the first African-American to make a Cup race since 1986, and the sixth in series history. He finished 38th, six laps down. He ran another race that season at Michigan, finishing 32nd.
After failing to finish in the top-ten in 2006, Lester departed Davis to drive the #15 Billy Ballew Motorsports
Billy Ballew Motorsports
Billy Ballew Motorsports is a team that competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. They were formed in 1996 by Georgia businessman Billy Ballew. They currently field the #51 Bullet Liner F-150 for Colin Braun.- Fasscore Motorsports :...
Chevy. His best finish was an eighth at Kentucky, when he stepped out of the truck due to sponsor problems. He left NASCAR racing at the end of 2007.
In 2008, Lester drove the #3 Riley Daytona Prototype
Daytona Prototype
A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, replacing contemporary open cockpit sports cars, specifically Sports Racing Prototypes...
for Southard Motorsports in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Rolex Sports Car Series
The Rolex Sports Car Series is the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It is a North American-based sports car series that was founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship...
, partnering with Shane Lewis. He moved to Flying Lizard Motorsports
Flying Lizard Motorsports
The Flying Lizard Motorsports team is a motorsport team from Sonoma, California which was formed by Seth Neiman in early 2003 to compete in the American Le Mans Series. The Flying Lizard squad finished second in GT2 in the 2004 ALMS Drivers’ and team championships and third in 2005.In 2006, the...
for 2009, finishing 3rd at the summer Daytona race. The next year, Lester moved to a new team in Starworks Motorsport driving the #7 BMW Riley for the full season, finishing 17th in points.
For 2011, Lester moved to the GT category with Autohaus Motorsports and their Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...
team. On May 14, 2011, Lester made sports car history by becoming the first African-American driver to win in any Grand-Am division. Ironically, Lester won at the famed Virginia International Raceway
Virginia International Raceway
The Virginia International Raceway is a road course located in the community of Alton, Virginia near Danville, Virginia. It is found less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina on the banks of the Dan River...
, located close to the home of NASCAR's only African-American winner, Wendell Scott
Wendell Scott
Wendell Oliver Scott was an American stock car racing driver from Danville, Virginia. He is the only black driver to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. According to a 2008 biography of Scott, he broke the color barrier in Southern stock car racing on May 23, 1952, at the Danville...
.
Personal
Since 1992, he has served as a racing instructor at Infineon Raceway. He now lives in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
with his wife Cheryl, and their son William Alexander IV (Alex).