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Keep on truckin' Lester looking to open doors for other minority driversPosted: Friday February 14, 2003 10:11 AM
By Denise N. Maloof, SI.com DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- They're an odd couple at first glance, Bobby Hamilton and Bill Lester. One's a buoyant Californian, the other all down-home Tennessee. But they do speak the same language -- gobs of it, sometimes. And if their NASCAR pairing bears fruit, they'll do more than just win Craftsman Truck series races. Lester rides with atypical baggage -- he's NASCAR's only full-time African-American driver. On Friday, he's scheduled to start eighth in the season-opener, the Florida Dodge Dealers 250, by piloting a Hamilton-owned, factory-sponsored No. 8 Dodge. Hamilton, a Winston Cup veteran, also owns Chad Chaffin's No. 18 and the No. 4 truck, but Lester's team got the most offseason attention. Personnel were re-arranged. Crew chief Danny Rollins (three series wins) was switched from the No. 18 to the No. 8, and Hamilton, who will drive the No. 4, says there's good reason for the changes. "Because we really have enough confidence that he can win for us," Hamilton said of Lester. "When he does win, it's going to be huge for the sport." It'll be huge for Lester, too. He's beginning his second full NASCAR season, and is tired of being a curiosity. "It's all cheap talk and idle speculation if you don't win," Lester said. "It's all a matter of winning, and I'm just very driven, a very competitive person. And coming up anything short of that is basically just disheartening, disappointing and unacceptable." Lester celebrated his 42nd birthday last week and knows his time is closer to now than never. He's been through all the uncomfortable feelings, the convincing of people, the odd stares and comments. Sometimes, it's not fun being a pioneer. Sometimes it is, as on Monday, when he spoke to students at Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach. "I'm aware of the opportunity in front of me," Lester said. "I feel that although it's not my main mission, it's something that hopefully if I can be a catalyst for change -- if I can hope to make a difference -- then I'm glad to do so." In the racing world, Lester would rather talk through his tires. He discovered speed when he got his driver's license as a teenager. And even a University of California-Berkley engineering degree didn't dent the love affair. Over time, and a 16-year career at Hewlett-Packard, he won many Sports Car Club of American events throughout the West. Once he decided to pursue NASCAR, the opportunity was hastened through on-track tests with Dodge's now three-year-old diversity program. Ultimately, it matched Lester with Hamilton. "I feel like I'm the only one pulling the wagon," Hamilton said of helping recruit drivers from diverse backgrounds. "We do a lot, and Dodge does a lot off the race track to promote it and everything, but you've got that up against the world." "I think he probably believes I have the talent and I deep down believe I have the talent," Lester said. "Now I got to demonstrate it this year." Lester ran one truck race for another owner in 2000, and in 2001, when Hamilton debuted the No. 8 team, Lester thought he'd earned that ride through auditions. Hamilton admitted that he was his choice, but Lester says Hamilton was out-voted by sponsors who preferred another veteran, driver Joe Ruttman. "So I knew that I had a friend then," Lester said of Hamilton. "And I knew that I had somebody that believed in me and that I [can] confide in, and he hasn't let me down at all ever since." Last season, Hamilton installed Lester full time in the No. 8 truck. The latter ran top-five in the season opener at Daytona until getting caught up in a late wreck. He also started 22 races, flirted with several top-10 performances, and claimed one pole. His top finish was 11th at Texas Motor Speedway, and he finished second to Brendan Gaughan in rookie of the year voting. Hamilton, who called Lester "wild as a buck in traffic" at first, said his rookie driver had to learn how to drive NASCAR-style. "To be honest with you, people picked on him," Hamilton said. "I don't necessarily think it was a racial thing, I think he had a big yellow stripe on [his bumper], and he was fast. He qualified second, third, fourth, fifth every week. And them guys would get to him and he was trying to hold 'em up, and they'd just knock the crap out of him, and he'd lose it and wreck." During the second half of 2002, Lester learned those lessons. Gradually, his finishes improved to top-15 range, and Hamilton said Lester badly wanted to crack the top 10 in the season finale at Homestead. The owner told the driver to snatch up a finishing sheet following the race, and to find him in the garage. "He was 13th, I think," Hamilton said. "And I said, 'Look at all 12 of them guys in front of you.' And he said, 'What's the big deal?' And I said, 'They've all got 15 years or more of experience. There's guys behind you that's got 10 years of experience. So don't feel bad about what you're doing. It's not easy.'" "If I could pick up half of what he's forgotten, I'm going to be a better race-car driver," Lester said. Both men are loquacious, one Nashville colloquial, one West Coast cool. But they understand each other. Without Hamilton's mentoring, Lester says, he'd still be looking for an opportunity. Hamilton likes both his driver and the chance to nurture talent. "If he tells it to you, you better take it to the bank," Lester said. "He's honest, he's open, and I'm probably a thorn in his side because I ask so many questions." Some things Lester has to figure out himself. His biggest task this season will be learning how to communicate to Rollins what it takes for him to drive a truck on old tires. "He can make it drive good on new tires, make it fast," Hamilton said. "But the minute we train him on what that thing needs to feel like 20 laps or 20 miles into a run, we're going to be onto something then. And we're getting close on that."
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