Bill Lester
William Alexander Lester III (born February 6, 1961) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 17 Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing. Lester previously competed full-time in the Truck Series from 2002 to midway through 2007. Lester was the NASCAR's only full-time African-American driver during that time. After that, he moved to sports car racing, competing in the Rolex Sports Car Series from 2007 to 2012. Lester had also competed part-time in the same series from 1998 to 2001.
| Bill Lester | |||||||
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Lester in 2008 | |||||||
| Born | William Alexander Lester III February 6, 1961 Washington, D.C., U.S. | ||||||
| Achievements | First African-American to win a Rolex Sports Car Series race (Virginia International Raceway, 2011, GT Class) | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 2 races run over 1 year | |||||||
| Best finish | 68th (2006) | ||||||
| First race | 2006 Golden Corral 500 (Atlanta) | ||||||
| Last race | 2006 3M Performance 400 (Michigan) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
| Best finish | 111th (1999) | ||||||
| First race | 1999 Lysol 200 (Watkins Glen) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
| 143 races run over 9 years | |||||||
| 2021 position | 89th | ||||||
| Best finish | 13th (2003) | ||||||
| First race | 2000 Line-X 225 (Portland) | ||||||
| Last race | 2021 Fr8Auctions 200 (Atlanta) | ||||||
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| Rolex Sports Car Series | |||||||
| Years active | 1998–2001, 2007–2012 | ||||||
| Starts | 52 | ||||||
| Wins | 1 | ||||||
| Poles | 2 | ||||||
| Best finish | 3rd in 2011 | ||||||
| Last updated on: December 30, 2021. | |||||||
He also made two NASCAR Cup Series starts in 2006 and one Busch Series (now Xfinity) start in 1999.
Since his retirement from driving, Lester has worked as a member of the NASCAR National Motorsports Appeals Panel.