Bill Lester
Template:Short description Template:BLP sources Template:Infobox NASCAR driver William Alexander Lester III (born February 6, 1961) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 17 Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing. Lester previously competed full-time in the Truck Series from 2002 to midway through 2007. Lester was the NASCAR's only full-time African-American driver during that time. After that, he moved to sports car racing, competing in the Rolex Sports Car Series from 2007 to 2012. Lester had also competed part-time in the same series from 1998 to 2001.
He also made two NASCAR Cup Series starts in 2006 and one Busch Series (now Xfinity) start in 1999.
Since his retirement from driving, Lester has worked as a member of the NASCAR National Motorsports Appeals Panel.[1]
Racing career
Early career
He began racing in the road course circuits, running in the SCCA and IMSA series. He made his IMSA debut in 1990 at Sears Point International Raceway, qualifying ninth and finishing 1st 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.
NASCAR
In 1999, he became the first African-American to run a Busch Series race, when he ran at Watkins Glen in the No. 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 No. 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 five races the next season in the No. 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 No. 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. He later DNQed at California after spinning in qualifying.
After failing to finish in the top-ten in 2006, Lester departed Davis to drive the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevy. His best finish was an eighth at Kentucky, when he stepped out of the truck due to sponsor problems. After he was unable to find another ride in NASCAR, he left in 2008 to return to sports car racing.
On February 26, 2021, Lester announced on NASCAR Race Hub that he would be coming out of retirement to compete in the Truck Series race at his home track of Atlanta, which was also the same track where he made his Cup Series debut at in 2006.[2] The team was revealed as David Gilliland Racing on March 12, with local Ford dealerships and Camping World as his sponsors.[3] He finished 36th.
Return to sports cars
In 2008, Lester drove the No. 3 Riley Daytona Prototype for Southard Motorsports in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, partnering with Shane Lewis. He moved to Orbit Racing for 2009, finishing 3rd at the summer Daytona race. The next year, Lester moved to a new team in Starworks Motorsport driving the No. 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. Fittingly, Lester won at the Virginia International Raceway, located close to the home of NASCAR's first African-American winner, Wendell Scott.[4]
Personal life
Lester's father is William A. Lester. [5]
In 1984, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in EECS from the University of California, Berkeley.[6] Fresh out of college, he worked at Hewlett-Packard for 15 years before deciding to focus full-time on auto racing.[7]
Lester lives in Windermere, Florida with his wife Cheryl, and their sons William Alexander IV (Alex) and Austin Richard.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
He published an autobiography, Winning in Reverse, in February 2021.[8]
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Nextel Cup Series
| NASCAR Nextel Cup Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />NNCCScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Pts | Ref | ||
| 2006 | Bill Davis Racing | 23 | Dodge | DAY | CAL | LVS | ATL 38Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
BRI | MAR | TEX | PHO | TAL | RCH | DAR | CLT | DOV | POC | MCH 32Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
SON | DAY | CHI | NHA | POC | IND | GLN | MCH | BRI | CAL DNQScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
RCH | NHA | DOV | KAN | TAL | CLT | MAR | ATL | TEX | PHO | HOM | 68th | 67 | [9] | ||
Busch Series
| NASCAR Busch Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />NBSCScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Pts | Ref | |||
| 1999 | Robert Hayes Racing | 8 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | TEX | NSV | BRI | TAL | CAL | NHA | RCH | NZH | CLT | DOV | SBO | GLN 21Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MLW | MYB | PPR | GTY | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | CAR | MEM | PHO | HOM | 111th | 100 | [10] | |||
Camping World Truck Series
| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />NCWTCScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||
| 2000 | Team 23 Racing | 23 | Chevy | DAY | HOM | PHO | MMR | MAR | PIR 24Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
GTY | MEM | PPR | EVG | TEX | KEN | GLN | MLW | NHA | NZH | MCH | IRP | NSV | CIC | RCH DNQScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DOV | TEX | CAL | 86th | 122 | [11] | ||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Bobby Hamilton Racing | 4 | Dodge | DAY | HOM | MMR | MAR | GTY 36Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DAR | PPR 20Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DOV | TEX | MEM | MLW | KAN | KEN | NHA | IRP | NSH 30Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CIC | NZH | RCH | SBO 32Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX | LVS | PHO 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CAL | 59th | 304 | [12] | ||||||||||||||
| 2002 | 8 | DAY 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DAR 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 25Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
GTY 17Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
PPR 15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DOV 12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 11Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MEM 17Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MLW 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KAN 29Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KEN 14Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NHA 14Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MCH 15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
IRP 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NSH 16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
RCH 36Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
SBO 17Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
LVS 17Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CAL 14Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
PHO 15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
HOM 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
17th | 2320 | [13] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | DAY 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DAR 12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MMR 13Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 19Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CLT 15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DOV 11Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MEM 26Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MLW 12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KAN 10Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KEN 12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
GTW 22Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MCH 11Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
IRP 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NSH 16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
BRI 19Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
RCH 30Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NHA 13Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CAL 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
LVS 20Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
SBO 23Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 22Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
PHO 20Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
HOM 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
14th | 2712 | [14] | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Bill Davis Racing | 22 | Toyota | DAY 16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
ATL 15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 17Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MFD 30Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CLT 21Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DOV 25Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MEM 23Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MLW 34Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KAN 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KEN 29Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
GTW 10Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MCH 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
IRP 31Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NSH 31Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
BRI 14Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
RCH 29Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NHA 27Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
LVS 24Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CAL 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 14Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
PHO 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DAR 16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
HOM 24Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
22nd | 2400 | [15] | |||||||||||||
| 2005 | DAY 29Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CAL 16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
ATL 21Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 26Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
GTY 12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MFD 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CLT 6Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DOV 30Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 22Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MCH 16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MLW 15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KAN 5Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KEN 22Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MEM 35Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
IRP 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NSH 7Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
BRI 25Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
RCH 14Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NHA 25Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
LVS 32Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 32Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
ATL 19Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 11Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
PHO 21Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
HOM 5Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
17th | 2672 | [16] | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | DAY 35Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CAL 15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
ATL 29Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 24Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
GTY 30Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CLT DNQScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MFD 24Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DOV 30Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 22Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MCH 33Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MLW 15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KAN 23Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KEN 28Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MEM 25Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
IRP 14Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NSH 21Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
BRI 16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NHA 35Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
LVS 19Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TAL 31Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
ATL 22Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 21Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
PHO 20Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
HOM 11Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
20th | 2252 | [17] | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Billy Ballew Motorsports | 15 | Chevy | DAY 11Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CAL 20Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
ATL 30Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MAR 36Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KAN 16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
CLT 19Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MFD 21Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
DOV 35Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
TEX 18Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MCH 15Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MLW 24Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
MEM 12Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
KEN 8Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
IRP 16Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
NSH 20Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
BRI | GTW | NHA | LVS | TAL | MAR | ATL | TEX | PHO | HOM | 23rd | 1550 | [18] | |||||||||||||
| 2021 | David Gilliland Racing | 17 | Ford | DAY | DAY | LVS | ATL 36Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
BRI | RCH | KAN | DAR | COA | CLT | TEX | NSH | POC | KNX | GLN | GTW | DAR | BRI | LVS | TAL | MAR | PHO | 89th | 1 | [19] | ||||||||||||||||
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
References
External links
Script error: No such module "Portal".
Template:David Gilliland Racing Template:Billy Ballew Motorsports Template:Bill Davis Racing Template:Bobby Hamilton Racing Template:Team Racing
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Biography of William Alexander Lester III, TheHistorymakers.org, March 10, 2018, Retrieved June 24, 2020
- ↑ Former NASCAR Driver Discusses Competing as a Black Man, NPR Morning Edition, June 24, 2020, Retrieved June 24, 2020
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- Pages with script errors
- Pages with broken file links
- Living people
- 1961 births
- Racing drivers from Washington, D.C.
- 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
- Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
- NASCAR drivers
- Trans-Am Series drivers
- UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni
- African-American racing drivers
- 21st-century African-American sportsmen
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen
- Starworks Motorsport drivers