Willy T. Ribbs

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Willy T. Ribbs
The Budweiser at The Glen (Watkins Glen
)
Wins Top tens Poles
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California
)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Vegas.com 500 (Las Vegas
)
Wins Podiums Poles
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Laguna Seca
)
Wins Podiums Poles
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Statistics current as of March 20, 2012.

William Theodore Ribbs Jr. (born January 3, 1955) is a retired American race car driver, racing owner, and sport shooter known for being the first

sport shooter
in the National Sporting Clays Association.

Ribbs saw his most success in the Trans-Am Series, winning 17 races while driving for Dan Gurney and Jack Roush.

Biography

Ribbs grew up in San Jose, California as one of five children in a middle-class family. His father William "Bunny" Ribbs, Sr. was a plumbing contractor and amateur sportscar racer and was friends and neighbors with Indy Car driver Joe Leonard. Ribbs was nearly killed at eight years old when an out-of-control car at a race struck him. As a teenager, Ribbs would take his car out in the California mountains at high speeds, frequently stopped by police for reckless driving. Ribbs proceeded to enter a racing school at the age of 21.[2][3][4] Following his graduation from high school in 1975, Ribbs moved to Europe to compete. In 1977, Ribbs won the Dunlop/Autosport Star of Tomorrow FF1600 in his first year of competition, winning six races in eleven starts with Mike Eastick's Scorpion Racing School. Ribbs returned to the United States in 1978, making his debut in the Formula Atlantic open-wheel series at Long Beach on April 1, finishing 10th after running as high as 4th.[5][2][4][6]

In May 1978,

black fans to his racetrack. Ribbs was partnered with veteran crew chief Harry Hyde.[7] After being initially rejected by track officials due to a lack of stock car experience,[8] and when the Dodge Magnum Ribbs was supposed to drive was committed to another driver,[9] Wheeler set Ribbs up with owner Will Cronkite and a Bud Moore Engineering-built Ford Torino.[10] Cronkite replaced him with future champion Dale Earnhardt.[7][11]

Ribbs returned to the Formula Atlantic series in 1981,

Roush Racing.[2][4]

Ribbs won the SCCA Trans-Am race at Portland International Raceway in 1983

Ribbs' made his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500 in 1985, which ended in controversy when during testing he topped out at 170 miles per hour while other rookie drivers were running laps above 200 miles per hour. Ribbs proceeded to withdraw from the race altogether. The deal had been put together in part by boxing promoter

Don King, who Ribbs hired to manage him, with sponsorship from Miller Brewing Company, but with a second hand Cosworth machine from Arie Luyendyk.[2][4][12]

Ribbs attempted NASCAR again in 1986, running three races in the No. 30

IMSA GT Championship, winning four races.[2]

In 1990, Ribbs joined the

CART circuit in a car funded in-part by comedian Bill Cosby.[15] Ribbs had one top-10 event that season. He was involved in an unfortunate incident in Vancouver when a group of track marshals ran onto the track to assist Ross Bentley who had stalled, however, one of the marshals ran in front of Ribbs' car and the marshal was killed in the impact.[16]

Ribbs at the 1991 Indianapolis 500

In 1991, he became the first African-American to qualify for the

New Hampshire International Speedway[20]
races.

Laguna Seca
in 1991

In 1999, Ribbs raced in an

Craftsman Truck Series.[13][22]
Driving 23 out of 24 races, Ribbs had a best finish of 13th, and finished 16th in points.

In May 2011, Ribbs announced he had formed Willy T. Ribbs Racing to campaign former

Firestone Indy Lights' Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which coincided with Ribbs' 20th anniversary of breaking the color barrier at Indy.[23]
Ribbs himself came out of retirement to drive for the team in the Baltimore GP.

Among Ribbs' career highlights are winning the pole for the Formula Atlantic race at the 1982 Long Beach Grand Prix, IMSA GTO Driver of the Year 1987-88, and Trans Am Series Driver of the Year 1983. Ribbs won 17 Trans Am and 10 IMSA GTO races. He was enshrined on Long Beach Walk of Fame.

In 2019, Ribbs won the Indy Legends Charity Pro–Am race with co-driver Ed Sevadjian.[24]

After racing

After retiring from racing, Ribbs turned to

professional shooting, specializing in sporting clays. His son Theodore Ribbs is a professional sport shooter. Ribbs married hotel management executive Stephanie Bauer in August 2018.[13]

Controversy

Ribbs, an outspoken Black man (and not an obsequious "Stepin Fetchit," as Ribbs termed the sort of Black man the racing community wanted) had received criticism for his forthrightness during his career, sometimes from other

WWE.[5][25][26]

In 1984, during a warm-up session at the

International Motor Sports Association for one month after throwing a punch at driver Scott Pruett.[2][27]

In media

In the Disney Channel cartoon The Proud Family and its 2021 Disney+ reboot The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Penny Proud and her friends attend "Willy T. Ribbs Middle School," where the mascot is the "Racer."

Ribbs was featured in the 2020 documentary Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story, which released on Netflix.[28]

After driving in the 2021 SRX Series, Ribbs became a roving reporter for the 2022 season.[29]

Motorsports career results

Ribbs at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2018

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1978 Formula Atlantic 1 0 0 0 0 1 36th
1981 North American Formula Atlantic Ralt America 3 0 0 0 0 6 33rd
1982 North American Formula Atlantic Archie Snider 3 0 1 0 0 19 19th
1983 Trans-Am Series DeAtley Motorsports 12 5 4 7 6 148 2nd
IMSA GT Championship - GTU All American Racers 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1984 Trans-Am Series DeAtley Motorsports 13 4 2 5 9 155 3rd
IMSA GT Championship - GTO 1 1 1 0 1 20 24th
1985 Trans-Am Series Roush Protofab 15 7 4 7 10 213 2nd
IMSA GT Championship - GTO 2 1 2 1 1 20 27th
Formula One Motor Racing Developments Test driver
1986 IMSA GT Championship - GTO Brooks Racing 9 1 1 2 4 92 5th
Trans-Am Series 2 0 0 0 0 11 27th
NASCAR Winston Cup Series 3 0 0 0 0 219 65th
1987 IMSA GT Championship - GTO All American Racers 13 4 3 4 6 125 5th
1988 IMSA GT Championship - GTO All American Racers 12 2 1 2 4 96 3rd
Trans-Am Series Lindley Racing 7 1 1 2 3 78.5 11th
1989 IMSA GT Championship - GTP All American Racers 12 0 0 0 0 24 23rd
Trans-Am Series Lindley Racing 1 0 0 0 1 16 22nd
1990 CART PPG Indy Car World Series Raynor Racing 8 0 0 0 0 3 26th
IMSA GT Championship - GTP All American Racers 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1991 CART PPG Indy Car World Series Walker Racing 9 0 0 0 0 17 17th
IMSA GT Championship - GTP All American Racers 2 0 0 0 0 7 37th
1992
CART PPG Indy Car World Series
 Walker Racing 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Trans-Am Series Whistler 1 0 0 0 0 6 58th
1993
CART PPG Indy Car World Series
 Walker Motorsport 13 0 0 0 0 9 20th
1994
CART PPG Indy Car World Series
 Walker Racing 15 0 0 0 0 12 22nd
1999 Indy Racing League McCormack Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 4 47th
2000 Trans-Am Series Clover Enterprises 11 0 0 0 1 153 7th
2001 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bobby Hamilton Racing 23 0 0 0 0 2319 16th
2011 Indy Lights Willy T. Ribbs Racing 1 0 0 0 0 17 29th
2021 SRX Series 6 0 0 0 0 67 10th

American open–wheel racing results

(key)

PPG Indycar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
1984
 Doug Shierson Racing LBH
PHX
 INDY
Wth1
MIL
 POR MEA CLE
MCH
ROA
POC
MDO
SAN
MCH
PHX
LAG
 CPL NC - [30]
1985
 AMI Racing LBH INDY
Wth2
MIL
 POR MEA CLE
MCH
ROA
POC
MDO
SAN
MCH
LAG
PHX
 MIA NC - [31]
1990
 Raynor Motorsports
PHX
 LBH
20 		INDY
MIL
DET

20 		POR CLE MEA
23
TOR

27
MCH
DEN

26 		VAN
10
MDO

27
ROA
 NAZ
LAG

13 		26th 3 [32]
1991
 Walker Racing SRF LBH
PHX
 INDY
32
MIL
DET

11 		POR CLE
22 		MEA
10
TOR
MCH
DEN

6 		VAN
21
MDO
ROA

10 		NAZ
17
LAG

12 		17th 17 [33]
1992
 Walker Racing
SRF
PHX
 LBH INDY
DET
 POR
MIL
NHA
TOR
MCH
 CLE
ROA
 VAN
MDO
 NAZ
LAG

25 		57th 0 [34]
1993
 Walker Racing SRF
PHX
 LBH INDY
21
MIL

11
DET

12 		POR
16 		CLE
27
TOR

18
MCH

10
NHA

15
ROA

12 		VAN
16
MDO

11 		NAZ
19
LAG

28 		20th 9 [35]
1994
 Walker Racing SRF
18
PHX

28 		LBH
18 		INDY
DNQ
MIL

25
DET

16 		POR
25 		CLE
12
TOR

21
MCH

7
MDO

28
NHA

10 		VAN
25
ROA

24 		NAZ
18
LAG

11 		22nd 12 [36]
1 Did not appear
2 Withdrew from rookie orientation

Indy Racing League

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team Chassis No. Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points Ref
1999
 McCormack Motorsports G-Force GF01C 30 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 WDW
PHX
 CLT INDY TXS PPIR ATL
DOV
 PPIR LVS
26 		TXS 47th 4 [37]

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
1984 DSR-1
Cosworth
 Wth Doug Shierson Racing
1985 March 85C
Cosworth
 Wth AMI Racing
1991 Lola T9000 Buick 29 32 Raynor Motorsports
1993 Lola T9200
FordXB
 30 21 Walker Racing
1994 Lola T9400
FordXB
 DNQ Walker Racing

Indy Lights

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points Ref
2011
 Willy T. Ribbs Racing
STP
 ALA LBH
INDY
MIL
IOW
TOR
 EDM1 EDM2 TRO
NHM
BAL

13 		KTY LVS 29th 17 [38]

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

Winston 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 NWCC Pts Ref
1986 DiGard Motorsports 30 Chevy DAY RCH CAR
ATL
BRI

DNQ
DAR
 NWS
22
MAR
 TAL
DOV
 CLT
DNQ
MCH

39 		DAY
POC
TAL
GLN

37 		MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
 DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
ATL
 RSD 65th 219 [39]
64 RSD
29
POC

Craftsman Truck Series

Craftsman 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 NCTC Pts Ref
2001 Bobby Hamilton Racing 8 Dodge
DAY

23
HOM

19
MMR

28
MAR

DNQ
GTY

20
DAR

29 		PPR
13
DOV

19
TEX

25
MEM

17
MLW

18
KAN

15
KEN

30
NHA

18
IRP

20
NSH

24 		CIC
28 		NZH
18
RCH

20
SBO

28
TEX

19
LVS

25
PHO

19
CAL

18 		16th 2319 [40]

Superstar Racing Experience

(key) * – Most laps led. 1 – Heat 1 winner. 2 – Heat 2 winner.

Superstar Racing Experience results
Year No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 SRXC Pts
2021
 17 STA
8 		KNX
10 		ELD
9
IRP

11 		SLG
7
NSV

12 		10th 67

* Season still in progress

See also

References

  1. ^
    AutoWeek
    . Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h McAlevey, Peter (October 9, 1988). "THE HARD RIDE OF WILLY T." The New York Times. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ^ "The First Black Among Top Race Car Drivers, Willy T. Ribbs Is Aiming to Become World Champ". People.com. People. September 26, 1983. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e Potter, Steve (March 24, 1985). "BLACK DRIVER PLANS TO BE FIRST AT INDY". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b Corcoran, Tully (February 21, 2014). "Willy T. Ribbs took to the track and always fought back". Fox Sports. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  6. ^ Katz, Michael (April 2, 1978). "Pressure on Andretti in Grand Prix Race" (PDF). The New York Times. Long Beach, California. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  7. ^
    Complex
    . February 22, 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  8. ^ "World 600 Rejects Ribbs" (PDF). The New York Times. Charlotte, North Carolina. Associated Press. May 19, 1978. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Ribbs Seeks Car for 600 At Charlotte on May 28" (PDF). The New York Times. Charlotte, North Carolina. Associated Press. May 11, 1978. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Ribbs Gets New Ride For World 600 Race" (PDF). The New York Times. Charlotte, North Carolina. Associated Press. May 17, 1978. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  11. Sporting News Wire Service. May 20, 2008. Archived from the original
    on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  12. The Los Angeles Times
    . Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  13. ^ a b c Carlton, Chuck (May 23, 2006). "Indy 500 driver Willy T. Ribbs now shoots for the top Ribbs remains competitive, but now it's on range, not track". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 2007-07-15. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  14. ^ Keith Collantine (2006-09-24). "First black Formula One driver..." F1Fanatic.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
  15. ^ "INDYCAR: Willy T. Ribbs: One Of A Kind, Pt 2". SpeedTV.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  16. ^ "COURSE WORKER KILLED AT AUTO RACE". deseretnews.com. 3 September 1990. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  17. ^ Graves, Gary. "Ribbs, Indy 500's first black driver, breaking ground again", USA Today, May 25, 2011. WebCitation archive.
  18. ^ "INDYCAR: Willy T. Ribbs: One Of A Kind, Pt 5". SpeedTV.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  19. ^ "1994 Marlboro 500". Champ Car Stats. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  20. ^ "1994 Slick 50 200". Champ Car Stats. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  21. ^ Willy T. Ribbs to compete at LVMS Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Las Vegas Sun, September 16, 1999, Retrieved 2010-07-31
  22. ^ Rodman, Dave (December 13, 2000). "Willy T. Ribbs to run Dodge: Dodge inks Ribbs, BHR for diversity initiative". motorsport.com. Auburn Hills, Michigan. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  23. ^ Graves, Gary, Ribbs, Indy 500's first black driver, breaking ground again, USA Today, May 25, 2011
  24. ^ "Ribbs, Said, Prevail in VROC Charity Pro-Am at IMS". SVRA. August 3, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  25. ^ Moody, Dave, "Willy T. Who?", Sirius Speedway Blog, June 3, 2006, Retrieved 2010-07-31
  26. ^ Whitlock, Jason, Willy T. Ribbs loves Indy, loathes NASCAR Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, Mercury News, May 26, 2006, Retrieved 2010-07-31
  27. The Los Angeles Times
    . Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  28. ^ Stahler, Tom (February 7, 2020). "Racing to the movies – 'Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story'". Classic Cars Journal. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  29. ^ Pryson, Mike (May 21, 2021). "Tony Stewart's SRX Has Had No Races Yet, But It's Already Got a Video Game". Autoweek. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  30. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  31. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 1985 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  32. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 1990 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  33. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 1991 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  34. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  35. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  36. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  37. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  38. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 2011 Firestone Indy Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  39. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  40. ^ "Willy T. Ribbs – 2001 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2023.

External links

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