Blacks On Track

February is Black History Month. This is the time to extol the accomplishments of our African Americans. I read an editorial in a newspaper the other day that stated that there should be no Black History Month, and that our African American brothers and sisters should have their accomplishments highlighted constantly, along with everyone else's. The editorial made a lot of sense to me, hopefully one day it will make sense to everyone.

Once you have been bitten by the racing bug, it does not make any difference if you are German, Australian, Polish, or American. It does not matter if the color of your skin is red, yellow, or purple. Nor does it matter if you end up a driver, mechanic, TV announcer, or race fan. You have been bitten by the racing bug, and all you live for is racing, and that is the bottom line.

There are very few black Americans associated with stock car racing. To begin with, the sport began in the Southeastern part of the United States in the late 1940's and mainly attracted confederate flag waving red-necks. A race driver by the name of Wendell Scott was the first black to break the color barrier in NASCAR. Scott raced the NASCAR circuit from 1961 to 1971. In 1964 when he won the 100 mile race on the .5-mile dirt track at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida, the track was deserted when the white racing officials finally presented him with his trophy. During his ten-year stint on the NASCAR circuit, Scott won one pole position at the Savannah Speedway in 1961, and recorded five seasons in the top ten championship point's standings.

In 1986 a black driver named Willie T. Ribbs raced in three Winston Cup races without a sponsor. Ribbs has a storied career in racing, and in 1991 be became the first black driver to qualify and race in the Indianapolis 500. He dabbled some in the NASCAR Craftsman Series and landed a full time ride for the 2001 season. Daimler Chrysler sponsored him with their Dodge Diversity Program which is aimed at bringing minorities into the racing industry. Ribbs drove the No. 8 Bobby Hamilton Racing's Dodge truck for a total of 23 races with an average starting position of 22.6 and an average finishing position of 21.4. His best finish was 13th at Pikes Peak, Colorado in the 200-lap Jelly Belly 200 sponsored by Dodge. Ribbs will not be racing in the 2002 season, reportedly due to the pursuit of a career in motion pictures.