Driver gets an 'A' for diplomacy and tact

By MIKE HARRIS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bill Lester is everything that NASCAR could hope for in a pioneer. Except, so far, for the racing part.
The first black driver in NASCAR's top series in 20 years -- and only the sixth to race at the top level in stock cars -- Lester was solid as a rock through a week of relentless media badgering.
He handled it all with class and aplomb, patiently answering the hundreds of questions and willingly posing for pictures with his car, with NASCAR officials, other drivers, fans and just about anything the flock of photographers in tow asked of him.
Of course, none of it would've mattered had he not actually qualified for his first Nextel Cup race. Despite all the pressure and lack of experience in a Cup car, Lester did it easily, the fastest of the 15 drivers vying for eight open spots in the Atlanta lineup.
First child due
Not to mention his wife Cheryl, who is a few weeks away from giving birth to the couple's second child. Lester joked that he talked to the baby, saying this was "Daddy's weekend" and the child would just have to wait its turn.
And with interest built to a fever pitch as his day finally came, the man who has been a regular in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series since 2002 was made to wait an extra day for an overnight rain delay.
Then, finally, race day came.
Lester, driving a Dodge for Bill Davis Racing, started the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway 19th in the 43-car field ... then quickly fell to the rear.
By the time the long day of racing was over, Lester had a stripe on his car from scraping the wall, had fallen to 38th and was six laps behind winner Kasey Kahne. It was a performance worthy of a first-time driver in an unproven car fielded by a second-rank team.
Still, when Lester got out of the car, he was surrounded again by reporters and photographers.
"I don't really deserve all the attention I've gotten," Lester said.
In a way, he was right.
Born in South
Most newcomers that far off the pace would have been ignored. But Lester is a pioneer in this sport born in the South -- and still strongly associated with good ol' boys.
"Our sport, for one reason or another -- and we could debate for hours about why -- is not as diverse as it needs to be," said longtime Cup driver Jeff Burton. "I don't think it's from a lack of trying."
Burton said he hopes Lester's race will generate interest in NASCAR across a wider audience.
"This sport is open to everyone, and that's how it ought to be," he said. "I look forward to the day when we're not having to talk about it and about what Bill Lester did. That's when we know that's we're where we need to be."
NASCAR sees it that way, too. The sanctioning organization is in the midst of building a diversity program that it hopes will help break the mold of the white-male-only teams and fans.
Considering the impact that Danica Patrick's rookie season had on the Indy Racing League in terms of ratings and media attention, NASCAR would do well to keep pursuing that goal. Unfortunately for NASCAR and Lester, a Cal-Berkeley graduate with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science and a former program manager for Hewlett Packard, he is 45 years old and unlikely to make much more of a splash than he already has.
That is, unless he starts significantly improving on that 38th-place finish.
Late start
"I know my age is against me," he said. "I got a late start in my career and I am trying my best to catch up as quickly as I can."
Lester is set for qualification tries at two more Cup events this year at least -- in June at Michigan International Speedway and in September at California Speedway. But the Davis team and others are hoping to find Lester enough sponsorship money to field a Cup car for another five or six races this year and, perhaps, enough for a full season in 2007.
And maybe there's a race-car driving Tiger Woods or Michelle Wie out there somewhere who decides that if Bill Lester can do it, so can he or she.
"To be honest," Lester said, "I don't know what it's going to really take to move the needle. But, obviously, when I'm out there, I'm ˚getting a whole lot of interest."
Just think how much interest Lester would be able to generate if he can compete -- or win.
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