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Interview With NASCAR Driver Bill Lester

Aired February 26, 2004 - 15:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All week, we've been honoring Black History Month. Today, we're picking up the pace, so to speak.
Bill Lester admits he's hooked on cars and on speed, has been since he was a kid. He puts both of those obsessions to good use as a NASCAR driver. Lester is also blazing new trails in diversity. He is the only African-American driver currently in NASCAR and NASCAR's Craftsman Truck series, specifically.

Bill, good to have you with us.

BILL LESTER, NASCAR DRIVER: It's a pleasure to be here.

O'BRIEN: All right, now, it could take awhile to do your bio here. But, basically, you were trained as an engineer at Berkeley and somehow you ended up racing. Can you give us a short story on that, how that happened?

LESTER: Really briefly, engineering was a means to an end. I wanted to be a professional race car driver. But I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. And I knew that the way I was going to be able to get behind the wheel of a race car was to get an occupation that paid enough money for me to go racing.

O'BRIEN: So you needed it was a means to an end, then?

LESTER: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Find a career where you could fund your hobby?

LESTER: That's right.

O'BRIEN: And that led to ultimately being sponsored. But that's not easy thing to make that transition, is it?

LESTER: It's very difficult. Racing at the amateur level, spending maybe $10,000 a year, vs. getting to the professional level, where you may spend maybe $3 million to as much, when you get to NASCAR, Nextel Cup level, $16 million a year is a huge undertaking.

O'BRIEN: Sixteen million dollars a year per car is what we're talking about.

LESTER: Exactly.

(CROSSTALK) O'BRIEN: Yes, I don't think people fully appreciate the amount of money that's involved. And to stage your vehicle on races, how much is that per year?

LESTER: In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series, it's about a $2.5 million to $3 million proposition. And I'm really fortunate that I have in the No. 22 Toyota sponsors as LidRock and the U.S. Army.

O'BRIEN: And it's hard to get sponsors these days. There's not a lot of free cash running around for these sponsorships, is there?

LESTER: The economic climate is very difficult. So I mean, it's hard anybody to get sponsorship out there.

O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you this, though. As an African- American, do you think it's more difficult to get those sponsorships?

LESTER: You know, I think it's all a matter of relationships and access to capital and such. And I think that, traditionally, it has been harder. It's hard for any driver. But I think that, being that most of the decision-makers in corporate America are white male, it has become somewhat more difficult for African-Americans, as well as females.

O'BRIEN: So it's a question of networking, is what it boils down to?

LESTER: It really becomes that situation, yes.

O'BRIEN: Now, what do you do when you go around? I assume you talk to kids, young minority kids. What do you tell them? How do you guide them? Because, presumably, a lot of them don't have silver spoons to get into this racket.

LESTER: Yes, that's very true.

And my message to them is really just to encourage them to stay in school, to pursue their dreams, find out what their passion is in life. Don't let anybody discourage them from that, but let them realize that having an education is key, because if I didn't have the education that I had I wouldn't be where I am today.

O'BRIEN: I think it's important to make that link, though, between education and your success. That's not something you would look on the race course and say, ah, there's an educated man, necessarily, right?

(LAUGHTER)

LESTER: I'm pretty much -- I'm not the norm. I'm pretty much the exception. Most of these drivers out there don't have an electrical engineering and computer science degree from Cal Berkeley.

O'BRIEN: I should say.

(LAUGHTER) O'BRIEN: I should say. Now, and we're not casting any pejoratives against them, but, nevertheless, it's not necessarily mandatory to do what you do.

Now, we're looking at you in your old truck. We should point out, you're driving a Toyota now, a little different team. Nevertheless, you got a family. And this is a question that has nothing to do with Black History Month. Do they get nervous with you out there driving 180 miles an hour, mixing it up, as you can see, the truck circuit. You mix it up.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: That stops us cold right there. They're cute.

Do they get nervous with you out there?

LESTER: I'm sure my mother would be happier if I wasn't a professional race car driver. But I know what it is and she knows what it is that makes me come alive. And I've had the tremendous support of my family, and especially my wife, to be doing what I am doing today.

O'BRIEN: All right, well, let me ask you this. In this day and age, 2004, is it a sad statement that there's only one African- American currently out there on the tracks in NASCAR?

LESTER: I think it's unfortunate. I hope to think that that situation changes and that I'm not conducting interviews talking about the fact that I'm the only one out there and that I'm just at the beginning of a wave of a new trend of drivers that follows behind me.

O'BRIEN: Do you see that, though? Are they out there in the cart level?

LESTER: Oh, yes, they're out there. They're definitely out there.

And it's just a matter of, first of all, getting exposure to the sport and then, secondly and most importantly, getting the opportunity to demonstrate their talent.

O'BRIEN: Have you had an opportunity to mentor some of these drivers and put them in contract with the money players?

LESTER: Well, you wouldn't believe how many people reach out to me, especially like on my Web site, BillLester.com. and ask me, what does it take, Bill, to get involved, to get started in racing?

And I try to point them in the right directions and what have you. I have met with a lot of guys that have aspirations to be drivers at the track and kind of shepherd them along. And so, yes, I hope to think some of these efforts will bear fruit.

O'BRIEN: So diversity could happen in NASCAR? LESTER: There's no question about that. I got to commend NASCAR for their efforts. They have a diversity council. They have what's called a drive for diversity, where they're developing drivers and they're developing crew members. There are a whole lot of efforts that I think will bear fruit.

O'BRIEN: You're a smart person. Some day, would you like to get an ownership role and perhaps encourage diversity that way?

LESTER: There's no question that, even after I'm done behind the wheel, I want to stay involved in the sport. Maybe it will be ownership. Maybe it will be scouting. Who knows what it will it be.

O'BRIEN: All right, you could have been an engineer, but you wound up there. And we enjoy watching you. Thank you very much. It's great to have you drop by, Bill Lester.

LESTER: It's my pleasure. Thank you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: NASCAR driver on Black History Month. We appreciate you dropping by. You're an inspiration. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 26, 2004 - 15:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All week, we've been honoring Black History Month. Today, we're picking up the pace, so to speak.
Bill Lester admits he's hooked on cars and on speed, has been since he was a kid. He puts both of those obsessions to good use as a NASCAR driver. Lester is also blazing new trails in diversity. He is the only African-American driver currently in NASCAR and NASCAR's Craftsman Truck series, specifically.

Bill, good to have you with us.

BILL LESTER, NASCAR DRIVER: It's a pleasure to be here.

O'BRIEN: All right, now, it could take awhile to do your bio here. But, basically, you were trained as an engineer at Berkeley and somehow you ended up racing. Can you give us a short story on that, how that happened?

LESTER: Really briefly, engineering was a means to an end. I wanted to be a professional race car driver. But I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. And I knew that the way I was going to be able to get behind the wheel of a race car was to get an occupation that paid enough money for me to go racing.

O'BRIEN: So you needed it was a means to an end, then?

LESTER: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Find a career where you could fund your hobby?

LESTER: That's right.

O'BRIEN: And that led to ultimately being sponsored. But that's not easy thing to make that transition, is it?

LESTER: It's very difficult. Racing at the amateur level, spending maybe $10,000 a year, vs. getting to the professional level, where you may spend maybe $3 million to as much, when you get to NASCAR, Nextel Cup level, $16 million a year is a huge undertaking.

O'BRIEN: Sixteen million dollars a year per car is what we're talking about.

LESTER: Exactly.

(CROSSTALK) O'BRIEN: Yes, I don't think people fully appreciate the amount of money that's involved. And to stage your vehicle on races, how much is that per year?

LESTER: In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series, it's about a $2.5 million to $3 million proposition. And I'm really fortunate that I have in the No. 22 Toyota sponsors as LidRock and the U.S. Army.

O'BRIEN: And it's hard to get sponsors these days. There's not a lot of free cash running around for these sponsorships, is there?

LESTER: The economic climate is very difficult. So I mean, it's hard anybody to get sponsorship out there.

O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you this, though. As an African- American, do you think it's more difficult to get those sponsorships?

LESTER: You know, I think it's all a matter of relationships and access to capital and such. And I think that, traditionally, it has been harder. It's hard for any driver. But I think that, being that most of the decision-makers in corporate America are white male, it has become somewhat more difficult for African-Americans, as well as females.

O'BRIEN: So it's a question of networking, is what it boils down to?

LESTER: It really becomes that situation, yes.

O'BRIEN: Now, what do you do when you go around? I assume you talk to kids, young minority kids. What do you tell them? How do you guide them? Because, presumably, a lot of them don't have silver spoons to get into this racket.

LESTER: Yes, that's very true.

And my message to them is really just to encourage them to stay in school, to pursue their dreams, find out what their passion is in life. Don't let anybody discourage them from that, but let them realize that having an education is key, because if I didn't have the education that I had I wouldn't be where I am today.

O'BRIEN: I think it's important to make that link, though, between education and your success. That's not something you would look on the race course and say, ah, there's an educated man, necessarily, right?

(LAUGHTER)

LESTER: I'm pretty much -- I'm not the norm. I'm pretty much the exception. Most of these drivers out there don't have an electrical engineering and computer science degree from Cal Berkeley.

O'BRIEN: I should say.

(LAUGHTER) O'BRIEN: I should say. Now, and we're not casting any pejoratives against them, but, nevertheless, it's not necessarily mandatory to do what you do.

Now, we're looking at you in your old truck. We should point out, you're driving a Toyota now, a little different team. Nevertheless, you got a family. And this is a question that has nothing to do with Black History Month. Do they get nervous with you out there driving 180 miles an hour, mixing it up, as you can see, the truck circuit. You mix it up.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: That stops us cold right there. They're cute.

Do they get nervous with you out there?

LESTER: I'm sure my mother would be happier if I wasn't a professional race car driver. But I know what it is and she knows what it is that makes me come alive. And I've had the tremendous support of my family, and especially my wife, to be doing what I am doing today.

O'BRIEN: All right, well, let me ask you this. In this day and age, 2004, is it a sad statement that there's only one African- American currently out there on the tracks in NASCAR?

LESTER: I think it's unfortunate. I hope to think that that situation changes and that I'm not conducting interviews talking about the fact that I'm the only one out there and that I'm just at the beginning of a wave of a new trend of drivers that follows behind me.

O'BRIEN: Do you see that, though? Are they out there in the cart level?

LESTER: Oh, yes, they're out there. They're definitely out there.

And it's just a matter of, first of all, getting exposure to the sport and then, secondly and most importantly, getting the opportunity to demonstrate their talent.

O'BRIEN: Have you had an opportunity to mentor some of these drivers and put them in contract with the money players?

LESTER: Well, you wouldn't believe how many people reach out to me, especially like on my Web site, BillLester.com. and ask me, what does it take, Bill, to get involved, to get started in racing?

And I try to point them in the right directions and what have you. I have met with a lot of guys that have aspirations to be drivers at the track and kind of shepherd them along. And so, yes, I hope to think some of these efforts will bear fruit.

O'BRIEN: So diversity could happen in NASCAR? LESTER: There's no question about that. I got to commend NASCAR for their efforts. They have a diversity council. They have what's called a drive for diversity, where they're developing drivers and they're developing crew members. There are a whole lot of efforts that I think will bear fruit.

O'BRIEN: You're a smart person. Some day, would you like to get an ownership role and perhaps encourage diversity that way?

LESTER: There's no question that, even after I'm done behind the wheel, I want to stay involved in the sport. Maybe it will be ownership. Maybe it will be scouting. Who knows what it will it be.

O'BRIEN: All right, you could have been an engineer, but you wound up there. And we enjoy watching you. Thank you very much. It's great to have you drop by, Bill Lester.

LESTER: It's my pleasure. Thank you, Miles.

O'BRIEN: NASCAR driver on Black History Month. We appreciate you dropping by. You're an inspiration. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com