Bill Lester
He broke barriers as NASCAR's only full-time Black driver in the 2000s, transitioning from a corporate tech career to professional racing.
Born 1961 (age 65)·American racing driver·Birthday: February 6·Baby Boomers
Biography
Bill Lester's path to the racetrack was anything but conventional. He earned an engineering degree and worked for Hewlett-Packard before deciding, in his thirties, to chase a professional driving career. His breakthrough came in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where from 2002 to 2007 he carried the immense weight of being the sport's sole full-time African American competitor. While victory lane remained out of reach, his consistent, skilled performances in top-tier equipment earned respect in the garage. After his NASCAR chapter, Lester shifted to sports car racing, finding success in the Rolex Sports Car Series and proving his adaptability and enduring speed. His story is one of a calculated, late-blooming talent who navigated a homogeneous environment with quiet determination.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Bill was born in 1961, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bill Was Born
The biggest hits of 1961
#1 Movie
101 Dalmatians
Best Picture
West Side Story
#1 TV Show
Wagon Train
Bill's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1961Born
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1966Started school
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1974Became a teenager
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1977Could drive
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1979Could vote
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Turned 21
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1991Turned 30
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 40
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 50
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 60
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 65 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Was the only full-time African American driver in NASCAR's top three national series from 2002 to 2007.
- Competed in 142 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races over his career.
- Secured multiple top-ten finishes in the Rolex Sports Car Series, including a class win at Virginia International Raceway in 2009.
Did You Know?
He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
He began his racing career in BMW and Porsche club events while working as an engineer.
At age 45, he became the oldest driver to make a debut in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) in 1999.
“My engineering mind sees the track as a series of solvable problems.”
