Racing champion Willy T. Ribbs is a rarity in the world of auto racing as very few African-Americans have been embraced as race car drivers. Despite the odds, Ribbs made history not once, but twice, on the race track.
On May 19, 1991, Ribbs became the first Black race car driver to qualify for Indianapolis 500. Born William “Willy” Theodore Ribbs, Jr. on January 3, 1955, Ribbs grew up loving the sport race of race car driving in San Jose, Calif.