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 man to have tested a Formula One car (he did so in 1986) and to compete in the Indianapolis 500 (tested in 1985, raced in 1991 and 1993). Ribbs competed in many forms of auto racing, including the Trans-Am Series, IndyCar, Champ Car, IMSA, and the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. After retiring, he became a sport shooter in the National Sporting Clays Association.
Ribbs saw his most success in the Trans-Am Series, winning seventeen 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. 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.
In May 1978, Charlotte Motor Speedway president and race promoter Humpy Wheeler entered Ribbs to drive a NASCAR Winston Cup car in the World 600 at Charlotte in an effort to attract black fans to his racetrack. Ribbs was partnered with veteran crew chief Harry Hyde. After being initially rejected by track officials due to a lack of stock car experience, and when the Dodge Magnum Ribbs was supposed to drive was committed to another driver, Wheeler set Ribbs up with owner Will Cronkite and a Bud Moore Engineering-built Ford Torino. Cronkite replaced him with future champion Dale Earnhardt.
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 Trans-Am Series, driving Chevrolet Camaros with sponsorship from Budweiser. 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 Capris for Roush Racing.
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.
Ribbs attempted NASCAR again in 1986, running three races in the No. 30 Red Roof Inns car owned by DiGard Motorsports. His best finish came at his debut, a 22nd at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Also in 1986, Ribbs became the first black person to drive a Formula One car, when he tested for the Bernie Ecclestone-owned Brabham team at the Autódromo do Estoril, Portugal. Ultimately, Ribbs was not given the drive for the upcoming season. In 1987, Ribbs began driving Toyota Celicas for Dan Gurney in the IMSA GT Championship, winning four races.
In 1990, Ribbs joined the CART circuit in a car funded in-part by comedian Bill Cosby. 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.
In 1991, Ribbs became the first African-American to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.Graves, Gary. "Ribbs, Indy 500's first black driver, breaking ground again", USA Today, May 25, 2011. WebCitation archive. 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 and New Hampshire International Speedway races.
In 1999, Ribbs raced in an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for McCormack Motorsports as a try-out to join the team full-time in 2000.Willy T. Ribbs to compete at LVMS , Las Vegas Sun, September 16, 1999, Retrieved 2010-07-31 However he crashed on lap four and finished in 26th and last place. After three top-10s the Trans-Am Series in 2000, Ribbs signed to drive the No. 8 Dodge Ram for Bobby Hamilton Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. 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 NASCAR driver Chase Austin in the Firestone Indy Lights' Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which coincided with Ribbs' 20th anniversary of breaking the color barrier at Indy.Graves, Gary, Ribbs, Indy 500's first black driver, breaking ground again, USA Today, May 25, 2011 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.
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.
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 Americans in auto racing. 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. In May 2006, a newspaper column by Jason Whitlock of Knight-Ridder quoted Ribbs detailing his criticism of NASCAR and his lauding of the Indianapolis 500. Ribbs created controversy by referring to NASCAR as "Al-Qaida", "Neckcar", and WWE.Moody, Dave, "Willy T. Who?", Sirius Speedway Blog, June 3, 2006, Retrieved 2010-07-31Whitlock, Jason, Willy T. Ribbs loves Indy, loathes NASCAR , Mercury News, May 26, 2006, Retrieved 2010-07-31
In 1984, during a warm-up session at the SCCA Trans-Am Series season opener at Road Atlanta, 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, Ribbs was suspended by the International Motor Sports Association for one month after throwing a punch at driver Scott Pruett.
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.
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 Hall of Fame in 2025.
Motorsports career results
Career summary
SeasonSeriesTeamRacesWinsPolesPodiumsPointsPosition1978Formula Atlantic10000136th1981North American Formula AtlanticRalt America30000633rd1982North American Formula AtlanticArchie Snider301001919th1983Trans-Am SeriesDeAtley Motorsports125476148 2ndIMSA GT Championship - GTUAll American Racers100000NC1984Trans-Am SeriesDeAtley Motorsports134259155 3rdIMSA GT Championship - GTO111012024th1985Trans-Am SeriesRoush Protofab1574710213 2ndIMSA GT Championship - GTO212112027thFormula OneMotor Racing DevelopmentsTest driver1986IMSA GT Championship - GTOBrooks Racing91124925thTrans-Am Series200001127thNASCAR Winston Cup Series3000021965th1987IMSA GT Championship - GTOAll American Racers1343461255th1988IMSA GT Championship - GTOAll American Racers12212496 3rdTrans-Am SeriesLindley Racing7112378.511th1989IMSA GT Championship - GTPAll American Racers1200002423rdTrans-Am SeriesLindley Racing100011622nd1990CART PPG Indy Car World SeriesRaynor Racing80000326thIMSA GT Championship - GTPAll American Racers100000NC1991CART PPG Indy Car World SeriesWalker Racing900001717thIMSA GT Championship - GTPAll American Racers20000737th1992CART PPG Indy Car World SeriesWalker Racing100000NCTrans-Am SeriesWhistler10000658th1993CART PPG Indy Car World SeriesWalker Motorsport130000920th1994CART PPG Indy Car World SeriesWalker Racing1500001222nd1999Indy Racing LeagueMcCormack Motorsports10000447th2000Trans-Am SeriesClover Enterprises1100011537th2001NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesBobby Hamilton Racing230000231916th2011Indy LightsWilly T. Ribbs Racing100001729th2021SRX Series600006710th
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 INDYWth1 MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH PHX LAG CPL NC - 1985 AMI Racing LBH INDYWth2 MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH LAG PHX MIA NC - 1990 Raynor Motorsports PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG 26th 3 1991 Walker Racing SRF LBH PHX INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG 17th 17 1992 Walker Racing SRF PHX LBH INDY DET POR MIL NHA TOR MCH CLE ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG 57th 0 1993 Walker Racing SRF PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH NHA ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG 20th 9 1994 Walker Racing SRF PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO NHA VAN ROA NAZ LAG 22nd 12
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 1011 Rank Points Ref 1999 McCormack Motorsports G-Force GF01C 30 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 WDW PHX CLT INDY TXS PPIR ATL DOV PPIR LVS TXS 47th 4
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 KTY LVS29th17
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 NASCAR 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 Pts Ref 1986 DiGard Motorsports 30 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 65th 219 64 RSD POC
Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR 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 Pts Ref 2001 Bobby Hamilton Racing 8 Dodge DAY HOM MMR MAR GTY DAR PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA IRP NSH CIC NZH RCH SBO TEX LVS PHO CAL 16th 2319
Superstar Racing Experience