Willy T. Ribbs | |||||||
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Born | William Theodore Ribbs Jr. January 3, 1955 San Jose, California, U.S. | ||||||
Achievements | 1976 Formula Ford Dunlop Championship Champion | ||||||
Awards | 1983 Trans-Am Series Rookie of the Year | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
4 races run over 1 year | |||||||
Best finish | 65th (1986) | ||||||
First race | 1986 First Union 400 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
Last race | 1986 The Budweiser at The Glen (Watkins Glen) | ||||||
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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
23 races run over 1 year | |||||||
Best finish | 16th (2001) | ||||||
First race | 2001 Florida Dodge Dealers 250 (Daytona) | ||||||
Last race | 2001 Auto Club 200 (California) | ||||||
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IndyCar Series career | |||||||
1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
Team(s) | McCormack Motorsports (1999) | ||||||
Best finish | 47th – 1999 | ||||||
First race | 1999 Vegas.com 500 (Las Vegas) | ||||||
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Champ Car career | |||||||
46 races run over 5 years | |||||||
Years active | 1990–1994 | ||||||
Team(s) | Raynor Motorsports (1990) Walker Racing (1991–1994) | ||||||
Best finish | 17th (1991) | ||||||
First race | 1990 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach) | ||||||
Last race | 1994 Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey (Laguna Seca) | ||||||
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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 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 Gander Outdoors Truck Series.[1] After retiring, he became a 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.