500's first black driver is back, helping another potential history-make
A love of motor sports runs deep in Central Indiana.
But for blacks, the motor-sports tradition here has been less prominent, with only a few black race car drivers having competed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
That could change this year, with the first black driver in the Indianapolis 500 mentoring a young black driver in a developmental IndyCar racing series.
Willy T. Ribbs, who competed in the 500-Mile Race in 1991 and 1993, is the co-owner of a Firestone Indy Lights car that will be driven by Chase Austin, a Kansas native trying to make the transition from stock cars to Indy cars.
If he qualifies this week for the Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, Austin will make history of his own as the first black driver to start a Firestone Indy Lights race.
Ribbs has been down similar paths: He broke the color barrier in open-wheel racing in 1991, becoming the first African-American to compete in the Indianapolis 500 by securing his spot with 45 minutes left on bump day. He raced with Championship Auto Racing Teams from 1990 to 1994 and drove for DiGard Motorsports in NASCAR in 1986.
And Ribbs was the one who recommended that Austin move into open-wheel competition.
"The best path for me was in IndyCar," Ribbs said. "The Speedway, the Hulman-George family, the relationships are good. The reception I get here among people and the fans and the team personnel and officials is phenomenal."
Austin is enthusiastic about following Ribbs' lead in moving from heavy stock cars to the smaller and faster Indy Lights cars.
"They have a lot of downforce and bigger tires," Austin said of the open-wheel machines.
There are few blacks in auto racing, according to IndyCar team owner Sam Schmidt, because they typically don't get the early start in the sport that is needed to succeed.
Schmidt also noted that the black American experience doesn't include auto racing in the same way that it includes sports such as basketball and football.
As for Ribbs' dream to become an IndyCar team owner in the future, Schmidt says his color should be no barrier and might even be an advantage because of its novelty in the racing world.
"I don't care if you're male, female, any kind of different race, we're all going to treat you the same," Schmidt said. "It's going to be a competitive environment, and I welcome new team owners of any background."
Money an obstacle
Austin, who prefers to call himself biracial -- his mother is white and his father is black -- once seemed destined for a stock car career, signing a developmental contract with Hendrick Motorsports soon after turning 15. But the deal faded in 2006, and he spent years scrambling for rides in second-tier stock car series.
"Money actually buys you a ride," Austin said. "From a business standpoint, I can understand it, but it's bad as a driver, because I don't have a million dollars to bring to a team."
After a racing crash left Schmidt paralyzed, he turned to race car ownership, advancing from the Indy Lights series that Ribbs will enter Friday to owning cars in both the Indy Lights and Indy Racing League series. Schmidt said he's spoken with Ribbs and encouraged him to enter the Lights series.
However, money remains a car owner's main obstacle. Just to run the Indianapolis 500 with a single-car team with one engine costs $650,000 to $850,000, and an entire IndyCar season can cost $4.5 million to $5.5 million.
"The financial challenges are real, and you've got to do everything in your power to open doors and make things happen, as well as being successful on the track," Schmidt said.
A second chance
Austin sees this as a chance to revive his racing career after his apparent big break in stock car racing dried up a few years ago.
However, those stock car events did give him racing experience at some of NASCAR's fastest tracks, so he figures sheer speed won't intimidate him at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Austin has tested the 190-mph Lights car at the Chicagoland Speedway and has practiced at Indianapolis. On Thursday, he'll practice to qualify the car at IMS and to race Friday in the Freedom 100, the biggest race of the year for the IndyCar series' junior circuit.
That race will come 20 years after Ribbs qualified for the Indianapolis 500, running five laps before facing a bent pushrod in the stock-block engine. Ribbs ran 194 laps in 1993, finishing 21st.
After running a single IndyCar series race at Las Vegas in 1999, Ribbs faded from racing.
But last year, he returned to IMS as a guest of the track, and this year, he joined in the Indy Lights effort with Chris Miles, a New Albany native who runs Starting Grid, an organization that helps minority racers.
Ribbs, now 56, said Miles had to talk him into returning to racing, but now he sees it as a way to someday become a car owner.
"My interest is not to be a black team owner; my interest is to be a winning team owner and to be a competitive team owner," he said.
When that may happen is not known. Ribbs is not certain whether the team with Miles and Austin will continue into the Indy Lights season. Those cars race next at the Milwaukee Mile on June 19.
As often happens with all motor sports events, money makes the difference, and Ribbs is looking for money to fund Austin's ride. Raising money to race was difficult when Ribbs was backed by comedian Bill Cosby in the 1990s, and it's no easier now.
"Where I need to see the change is in the corporate boardroom," Ribbs said. "It's their mind-set -- that's where I need to see if there's any chance."
But for blacks, the motor-sports tradition here has been less prominent, with only a few black race car drivers having competed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
That could change this year, with the first black driver in the Indianapolis 500 mentoring a young black driver in a developmental IndyCar racing series.
Willy T. Ribbs, who competed in the 500-Mile Race in 1991 and 1993, is the co-owner of a Firestone Indy Lights car that will be driven by Chase Austin, a Kansas native trying to make the transition from stock cars to Indy cars.
If he qualifies this week for the Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, Austin will make history of his own as the first black driver to start a Firestone Indy Lights race.
Ribbs has been down similar paths: He broke the color barrier in open-wheel racing in 1991, becoming the first African-American to compete in the Indianapolis 500 by securing his spot with 45 minutes left on bump day. He raced with Championship Auto Racing Teams from 1990 to 1994 and drove for DiGard Motorsports in NASCAR in 1986.
And Ribbs was the one who recommended that Austin move into open-wheel competition.
"The best path for me was in IndyCar," Ribbs said. "The Speedway, the Hulman-George family, the relationships are good. The reception I get here among people and the fans and the team personnel and officials is phenomenal."
Austin is enthusiastic about following Ribbs' lead in moving from heavy stock cars to the smaller and faster Indy Lights cars.
"They have a lot of downforce and bigger tires," Austin said of the open-wheel machines.
There are few blacks in auto racing, according to IndyCar team owner Sam Schmidt, because they typically don't get the early start in the sport that is needed to succeed.
Schmidt also noted that the black American experience doesn't include auto racing in the same way that it includes sports such as basketball and football.
As for Ribbs' dream to become an IndyCar team owner in the future, Schmidt says his color should be no barrier and might even be an advantage because of its novelty in the racing world.
"I don't care if you're male, female, any kind of different race, we're all going to treat you the same," Schmidt said. "It's going to be a competitive environment, and I welcome new team owners of any background."
Money an obstacle
Austin, who prefers to call himself biracial -- his mother is white and his father is black -- once seemed destined for a stock car career, signing a developmental contract with Hendrick Motorsports soon after turning 15. But the deal faded in 2006, and he spent years scrambling for rides in second-tier stock car series.
"Money actually buys you a ride," Austin said. "From a business standpoint, I can understand it, but it's bad as a driver, because I don't have a million dollars to bring to a team."
After a racing crash left Schmidt paralyzed, he turned to race car ownership, advancing from the Indy Lights series that Ribbs will enter Friday to owning cars in both the Indy Lights and Indy Racing League series. Schmidt said he's spoken with Ribbs and encouraged him to enter the Lights series.
However, money remains a car owner's main obstacle. Just to run the Indianapolis 500 with a single-car team with one engine costs $650,000 to $850,000, and an entire IndyCar season can cost $4.5 million to $5.5 million.
"The financial challenges are real, and you've got to do everything in your power to open doors and make things happen, as well as being successful on the track," Schmidt said.
A second chance
Austin sees this as a chance to revive his racing career after his apparent big break in stock car racing dried up a few years ago.
However, those stock car events did give him racing experience at some of NASCAR's fastest tracks, so he figures sheer speed won't intimidate him at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Austin has tested the 190-mph Lights car at the Chicagoland Speedway and has practiced at Indianapolis. On Thursday, he'll practice to qualify the car at IMS and to race Friday in the Freedom 100, the biggest race of the year for the IndyCar series' junior circuit.
That race will come 20 years after Ribbs qualified for the Indianapolis 500, running five laps before facing a bent pushrod in the stock-block engine. Ribbs ran 194 laps in 1993, finishing 21st.
After running a single IndyCar series race at Las Vegas in 1999, Ribbs faded from racing.
But last year, he returned to IMS as a guest of the track, and this year, he joined in the Indy Lights effort with Chris Miles, a New Albany native who runs Starting Grid, an organization that helps minority racers.
Ribbs, now 56, said Miles had to talk him into returning to racing, but now he sees it as a way to someday become a car owner.
"My interest is not to be a black team owner; my interest is to be a winning team owner and to be a competitive team owner," he said.
When that may happen is not known. Ribbs is not certain whether the team with Miles and Austin will continue into the Indy Lights season. Those cars race next at the Milwaukee Mile on June 19.
As often happens with all motor sports events, money makes the difference, and Ribbs is looking for money to fund Austin's ride. Raising money to race was difficult when Ribbs was backed by comedian Bill Cosby in the 1990s, and it's no easier now.
"Where I need to see the change is in the corporate boardroom," Ribbs said. "It's their mind-set -- that's where I need to see if there's any chance."
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