Motor Trend - USA (2020-09)

depends on the time and the place and
the day. I definitely had rivals, right? I
had rivals, and I knew there was race
involved. I have to tell you, I needed that.
Bobby Unser told me, “There’s not a lot
of drivers that could have done and
handled what you do. I know, because I
heard what people were saying.” That
was fuel for me.

You could have allowed it to affect your
driving. I think it was intimidating. A lot
of people hold on to their myth of them-
selves as supremacist. That’s a dream
that they don’t want to wake up from,
and they were getting woken up. My
No. 1 concern was whether I was on a
level playing field mechanically. I didn’t
give a damn what anybody thought about
me. I knew they weren’t going to do
anything physically ’cause they would’ve
got their ass kicked. But the technical
side, I was always concerned about that.
Someone could be inside the team who’s
turning the screws the wrong way.

When you were trying to qualify for
Indy the first time, could you tell some
mechanics were slow-walking improve-
ments to your car? That was in 1985; I was
just practicing and testing to get myself
prepared for qualifying. The crew chief,
he never spoke one word to me. Indy ... is
dangerous. If there’s any miscommunica-
tion and you don’t know what’s going on,
you’re going to have a crash.

What were some of the additional diffi-
culties you faced in terms of trying to
get sponsors as a Black race-car driver?
There were really no meetings. If there
was any No. 1 obstacle, it was corporate
America turning their back. They didn’t
even care if I could win or not, because I
was winning. That was probably the most
disappointing part of my career.

You also got a chance to test for Formula
1 (for the Olivetti team) in 1985. There was
no racism involved in that. Bernie Eccle-
stone wanted me in Formula 1. Even
though I was fast enough to be on the
team, the sponsor was Italian, the drivers
were Italian, and that’s what they wanted.

Obviously there were some champions of
your talent, the guys who only cared that
you were fast and you were going to win
races ... Well, Dan Gurney, probably No. 1.
He went to Toyota and told them, “I want
Willy T. He can win, but he also doesn’t
back away from controversy. He doesn’t
turn another cheek.” Nowadays it would
be perfectly acceptable for me to step up

and defend myself. Well, not then. Dan

made it so it was all business.

Who else backed you? Bernie Ecclestone

was a big supporter. And if it wasn’t for

Jim Trueman, I would not have made it

into the sport. There was Paul Newman.

And Bill Cosby. Despite what’s happened

with Bill since then, if it wasn’t for Bill, I

would’ve never been in Indy 500.

You would’ve thought that sponsors

would’ve said, “Wow, we ought to be part

of his team.” Well, you know what’s sad is

the many billions of dollars that people

of color were putting into their bank.

But it was a one-way street. And it had

nothing to do with controversy, because

I had never been in trouble with the law.

Ever. There was no embarrassment that

I could have brought to them, other than

standing up for myself. I would not do

anything different.

Have you ever encountered any sort of

Driving While Black situations? I know

there’s some that will stop me for driving

while Black. There’s some that are legiti-

mately stopping me, but I’m not going to

be mad at them. I get it.

But in a lot of situations with Black drivers

and law enforcement, the person in the

car is being cool and it still doesn’t seem to

matter. I grew up shooting on the ranch.

I understand how to handle a gun very

well. And the thought behind pulling

the trigger. Nobody should be shot in

the back, unarmed. I know there’s split-

second decisions that are necessary when

it comes to confrontation. However, a lot

of those boys in law enforcement, they

should not be allowed to handle a gun. If

the first instinct is to reach for the gun

when you’re not being threatened, there’s

something wrong with your head.

When you see Lewis Hamilton and the

success he has on the track, do you ever

think, “That could have been me?”

My mother always said to me, “William,

you were born 25 years too soon.” I’m

(Lewis’) guest every year at Grand Prix

here in COTA in Texas. We talk about the

times I went through and the times he’s

going through now. My message every

time is, “You must stay tough. And you

must be true to yourself if you’re going to

take a stand.” He’s out front of all the race

drivers on the planet right now; he is lead

guy on Black Lives Matter and the George

Floyd murder. He has every right to stand

up and say, “This is wrong.”

What advice would you give to aspiring

Black race-car drivers? I tell these kids,

“You’ve got to stay clean. Don’t give

anyone a reason to turn you down in the

first place,” because, they’ll flip it and

say, “Well, you got in trouble doing this,”

instead of maybe the real reason of your

skin color. So I tell these kids, stay clean,

stay professional, learn as much as you

can from the technical side, because

the technical side knows no color. I

say, “Learn. Don’t wish.” Wishing is for

blowing out candles. Q

The full-length interview with Willy T.

Ribbs is available at MotorTrend.com.

One of Ribbs’ strongest backers in his career was film and racing legend Paul Newman.

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