Willy T Ribbs
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William Theodore Ribbs Jr. (born January 3, 1955) is an American former race car driver, racing owner, and sport shooter known for being the first
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
man to have tested a
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
car (he did so in 1986) and to compete in the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
(tested in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
, raced in
1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
and
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
). Ribbs competed in many forms of
auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
, including the
Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of ...
,
IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...
,
Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., a Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing T ...
,
IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...
, and the
NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
and
Gander Outdoors Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series is o ...
. After retiring, he became a
sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...
in the National Sporting Clays Association. Ribbs saw his most success in the Trans-Am Series, winning 17 races while driving for
Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of motorspo ...
and
Jack Roush Jack Roush (born Jackson Earnest Roush on April 19, 1942) is the founder, CEO, and co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, a NASCAR team headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, and is chairman of Roush Enterprises. Roush Enterprises is the ...
.


Biography

Ribbs grew up in San Jose,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
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 Joseph Paul Leonard (August 4, 1932 – April 27, 2017) was an American professional motorcycle racer and racecar driver. Biography Motorcycle career Leonard won the first A.M.A. Grand National Championship Series in 1954 and won it again in 19 ...
. 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. 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 Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club ...
open-wheel series at
Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
on April 1, finishing 10th after running as high as 4th. In May 1978,
Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...
president and race promoter
Humpy Wheeler Howard Augustine Wheeler Jr. (born October 23, 1938), nicknamed Humpy Wheeler, is an American motorsports executive and businessman. He is best known as the former general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, a banked racetrack in Concord, Nort ...
entered Ribbs to drive a
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
car in the
World 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960 in NASCAR, 1960, was a ...
at Charlotte in an effort to attract
black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
fans to his racetrack. Ribbs was partnered with veteran crew chief
Harry Hyde Harry Hyde (January 17, 1925 – May 13, 1996) was a leading crew chief in NASCAR stock car racing in the 1960s through the 1980s, winning 56 races and 88 pole positions. He was the 1970 championship crew chief for Bobby Isaac. He inspired t ...
. After being initially rejected by track officials due to a lack of stock car experience, and when the
Dodge Magnum The Dodge Magnum is a nameplate used by several Dodge vehicles, at different times and on various markets. The name was first applied to a large Chrysler B platform-based 2-door coupe marketed from 1978 to 1979 sold in the United States and Canad ...
Ribbs was supposed to drive was committed to another driver, Wheeler set Ribbs up with owner Will Cronkite and a
Bud Moore Engineering Bud Moore Engineering, later Fenley-Moore Racing, was a championship-winning NASCAR team. It was owned and operated by mechanic Bud Moore and ran out of Spartanburg, South Carolina. While the team was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1980s, the ...
-built
Ford Torino The Ford Torino is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company, Ford for the North American market between 1968 and 1976. It was a competitor in the mid-size car, intermediate market segment and essentially a twin to the Mercury Monte ...
. Cronkite replaced him with future champion
Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional Stock car racing, stock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Serie ...
. Ribbs returned to the Formula Atlantic series in 1981, winning the pole in the Long Beach Formula Atlantic race in 1982. The following year, Ribbs moved to the
SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, High Performance Driver Education, HPDE, Time trial, Time Trial, Road racing, Road Racing, Regularity rally, R ...
Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of ...
, driving
Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro sha ...
s with sponsorship from
Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...
. Ribbs won five races and was honored as Pro Rookie of the Year, while his teammate David Hobbs won the series championship. Ribbs won four races in 1984 driving factory-backed
Mercury Capri Capri (later Mercury Capri) is a Nameplate (automotive), nameplate marketed by the Mercury (automobile), Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford Motor Company over three generations between 1970 and 1994. From 1970 to 1978, the Capri was a sport compact ...
s for
Roush Racing Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, doing business as RFK Racing, is an American professional stock car organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of NASCAR's largest racing teams in the 2000s and early 2010s, Roush formerly ...
. 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 Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...
, who Ribbs hired to manage him, with sponsorship from
Miller Brewing Company The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the ...
, but with a second hand
Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for auto racing, automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotiv ...
machine from
Arie Luyendyk Arie Luijendijk (anglicized as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor S ...
. Ribbs attempted NASCAR again in 1986, running three races in the No. 30 Red Roof Inns car owned by
DiGard Motorsports DiGard Racing was a championship-winning race team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series that had its most success in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The team won the 1983 Winston Cup championship with Bobby Allison at the wheel. The team was starte ...
. His best finish came at his debut, a 22nd at
North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway is a paved oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1947; primarily races sanctioned by ...
. Also in 1986, Ribbs became the first black person to drive a
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
car, when he tested for the
Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate, motorsport executive and former racing driver. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the c ...
-owned
Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...
team at the
Autódromo do Estoril The Circuito do Estoril or Autódromo do Estoril (Estoril Circuit), officially known as Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva, is a motorsport race track on the Portuguese Riviera, outside of Lisbon, owned by state-run holding management company ...
, Portugal. Ultimately, Ribbs was not given the drive for the upcoming season. In 1987, Ribbs began driving
Toyota Celica The is an automobile produced by Toyota from 1970 until 2006. The Celica name derives from the Latin word ''wikt:coelicus, coelica'' meaning ''heavenly'' or ''celestial''. In Japan, the Celica was exclusive to ''Toyota Corolla Store'' Car deale ...
s for
Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of motorspo ...
in the
IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, ACCUS arm of the Féd ...
GT Championship, winning four races. In 1990, Ribbs joined the
CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...
circuit in a car funded in-part by
comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
. Ribbs had one top-10 event that season. He was involved in an unfortunate incident in
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
when a group of track marshals ran onto the track to assist
Ross Bentley Ross Bentley (born November 4, 1956) is a Canadian performance coach, racing driver, author, and speaker. His performance coaching spans executive/business coaching to sports (athletes and teams in a variety of sports, with a specialty in moto ...
who had stalled, however, one of the marshals ran in front of Ribbs' car and the marshal was killed in the impact. In 1991, he became the first African-American to qualify for the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
. He raced there a second time in 1993. In 1994, he continued in the CART series with the team, finishing in the top 10 at the
Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (formerly named as the Michigan Speedway from 1997 to 2000) is a D-shaped oval superspeedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. It has hosted various major auto racing series throughout its existence, including NASCAR, Cham ...
and New Hampshire International Speedway races. In 1999, Ribbs raced in an
Indy Racing League IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two Auto racing, racing series: the premier IndyCar Serie ...
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
event at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...
for
McCormack Motorsports McCormack Motorsports is a former IndyCar, Indy Racing League team owned by Dennis McCormack that operated from 1996 to 2001. Based in Avon, Indiana, the team debuted at the 1996 Indianapolis 500, 1996 Indianapolis 500 with a car for Randy Tolsma, h ...
as a try-out to join the team full-time in 2000. However he crashed on lap four and finished in 26th and last place. After three top-10s the
Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of ...
in 2000, Ribbs signed to drive the No. 8 Dodge Ram for
Bobby Hamilton Racing Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia is a disbanded NASCAR racing team. It was owned by four-time Winston Cup winner and 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton until his death on January 7, 2007. Bobby Hamilton Jr. was given owners ...
in the
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...
. 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
biracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
driver Chase Austin in the
Firestone Indy Lights Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Road ...
'
Freedom 100 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy NXT, Indy Lights. The event was a Card (sports)#Undercard, support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and ...
at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...
, which coincided with Ribbs' 20th anniversary of breaking the color barrier at Indy. 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 The Indy Legends Charity Pro–Am race is a Historic motorsport, vintage Sports car racing, sports car race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The race takes place on the Oval track racing#Combined road course, combined r ...
with co-driver Ed Sevadjian.


After racing

After retiring from racing, Ribbs turned to professional shooting, specializing in
sporting clays Sporting clays is a form of clay pigeon shooting Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting at shooting target#Clay pigeons, special flying targets known as "clay pigeons" or "clay targ ...
. His son Theodore Ribbs is a professional sport shooter. Ribbs married hotel management executive Stephanie Bauer in August 2018.


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
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
s in
auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
. Black car owner Leonard T. Miller, felt Ribbs was not the best representative of the Black community due to his outspoken nature. Ribbs has also spoken negatively about his experience in
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
. In May 2006, a newspaper column by
Jason Whitlock Jason Lee Whitlock (born April 27, 1967) is a former American sports columnist who currently hosts a program for the conservative media company Blaze Media titled ''Fearless with Jason Whitlock''. Jason was a sports columnist at ''The Kansas ...
of
Knight-Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. It was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, allowing the latter to become the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States at the time ...
quoted Ribbs detailing his criticism of NASCAR and his lauding of the Indianapolis 500. Ribbs created controversy by referring to NASCAR as "
Al-Qaida , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
", " Neckcar", and
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
. In 1984, during a warm-up session at the
SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, High Performance Driver Education, HPDE, Time trial, Time Trial, Road racing, Road Racing, Regularity rally, R ...
Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of ...
season opener at
Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...
, Ribbs was fined $1,000 for throwing a punch at fellow driver Bob Lobenberg, after the two drivers made contact on the track. In 1987 following a race at
Portland International Raceway Portland International Raceway (PIR) is a motorsport facility in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of the Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It lies west of the Delta Park/Van ...
, Ribbs was suspended by the
International Motor Sports Association The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive dir ...
for one month after throwing a punch at driver
Scott Pruett Scott Donald Pruett (born March 24, 1960) is an American former racing driver who has competed in numerous disciplines of the sport. In the 1980s, Pruett established himself as a top sports car racer, winning two IMSA GTO, and three Trans-Am ...
.


In media

In the
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
cartoon ''
The Proud Family ''The Proud Family'' is an American animated sitcom created by Bruce W. Smith that aired on Disney Channel for two seasons from September 15, 2001, to August 19, 2005. The series centers on the life of the titular family, including the show’s ...
'' and its 2021
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
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 Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. After driving in the 2021 SRX Series, Ribbs became a roving reporter for the 2022 season.


Awards

*Ribbs was inducted into the
Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of ...
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
in 2025.


Motorsports career results


Career summary


American open–wheel racing results

( key)


PPG Indycar Series

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) : ''1 Did not appear'' : ''2 Withdrew from rookie orientation''


Indy Racing League

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)


Indianapolis 500


Indy Lights


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


Craftsman Truck Series


Superstar Racing Experience

( key* – Most laps led. 1 – Heat 1 winner. 2 – Heat 2 winner. Season still in progress


See also

*
Wendell Scott Wendell Oliver Scott Sr. (August 29, 1921 – December 23, 1990) was an American stock car racing driver. He was the first African-American driver and team owner to compete and win in all divisions of NASCAR at its highest level. Scott began his ...
,
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
driver and first African-American race winner. *
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
, first British driver of black and white mixed background to compete in a
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
, win a race, and become World Drivers' Champion.


References


External links

* *
Willy T. Ribbs
at The HistoryMakers {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribbs, Willy Living people 1955 births Sportspeople from San Jose, California Racing drivers from San Jose, California Indianapolis 500 drivers Champ Car drivers IndyCar Series drivers Indy Lights drivers Atlantic Championship drivers NASCAR drivers IMSA GT Championship drivers Trans-Am Series drivers Sporting clays shooters American male sport shooters African-American racing drivers African-American IndyCar Series drivers 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Walker Racing drivers