Top > Sport > 2006 > March > 2006-03-20

Lester Makes History in the Bloden Corral 500

Bill Lester earned his spot in the Bloden Corral 500, on Friday, and becames the first black driver to qualify for the race in NASCAR`s top series in nearly 20 years. Lester got a score nearly 6 mph faster than he ran in practice. But Lester still had to wait for more than an hour to see if it would be good enough to make it into the 43-car field for Sunday"s race.

"I only need to hold my breath for 30 or 35 more drivers", a smiling Lester said after getting out of his car."I`m just glad I was able to realize my dream and get this opportunity". He made it easily, qualifying 19th overall and the fastest of 15 drivers who tried to drive their way into the race.

"It`s overwhelming", said Lester, who raced later Friday night in the truck race. "This is the culmination of a very long dream that I`ve had to race at the top level of motorsports. ... I`m hoping to think that this is the beginning, that it will open a few more eyes and get the attention of corporate America. "This is quite a feat at my age, but I hope I`m still on the rise", added Lester, the first black man to qualify for a Cup race since Willy T. Ribbs ran three events in 1986, the last in June of that year at Michigan International Speedway.