Willy T. Ribbs didn’t set out to make history.
His goal whenever he climbed behind the wheel of some of the fastest cars in the world was to win races.
Ribbs became the first African American to test a Formula One car in 1985 and the first to compete in the Indianapolis 500 in 1991.
He also competed in the Trans-Am Series, IndyCar, IMSA, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series.
“If anybody wants to follow down that path, they’ve got the playbook now,” said Ribbs, 64. “The only history I wanted was the plaque with my name on it and winning the race. I only cared about the checkered flag and the check that came with it, which was great.”
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Ribbs’ story as a groundbreaker and legend in racing history is the focus of the documentary “Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story,” directed by Nate Adams and Adam Carolla.
The speak-your-mind Ribbs, whose frank nature sometimes rubbed whites in the sport the wrong way, will be in Atlanta for the documentary screening from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, 101 Auburn Ave. NE.
The screening is part of the African American Film Critics Association’s summer screening series. It will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
The documentary is slated for a fall release, and its directors hope it will be picked up by a major network.
Ribbs learned about fast cars from his father, a businessman whose hobby was racing. He knew by the age of 9 that he wanted to race cars.
After high school, he went to England to begin his racing career.
Why go across the pond?
“I didn’t want to deal with the racism in the United States,” said Ribbs, whose fastest speed around the track was about 231 mph. “The United States would not have been the first place to take my first steps. I wanted to be a Formula One driver. In Europe, only my driving mattered. Here, I would be a black driver.”
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Adams met Ribbs when he interviewed him for a film on actor Paul Newman, who also had a racing career. Newman also suggested Ribbs might make a great documentary.
“I was just amazed that his story had never been told,” said Adams.
Ribbs is “very charismatic and he reached a level that far surpassed any African American drivers at that time. He was miles further than any of them.”
Ribbs gained a reputation as hard to get along with, but Adams said the truth was Ribbs “didn’t allow people to mistreat him.” One of his mentors and friends was another outspoken sports legend, boxer Muhammad Ali.
Ribbs said he was treated so well in England that he was blindsided when he returned home to the predominantly white world of racing.
The racism was “glaring. Who do you think you are (slur)? When I got back, I dug my heels in. The industry tried to flip the script and create the narrative that Willy T. was the problem.”
His race also affected his ability to get corporate sponsorship. “That’s the silent group who tried to put up the barriers,” he said. Instead he raced for teams that were sponsored already.
Today, things have hardly slowed down for Ribbs.
He travels around the world with his son, Theo Ribbs, who is a competitive shooter.
The elder Ribbs also does a few racing appearances here and there. Also, two or three times a year, he joins other racing legends for charity races.
Now, he prefers to drive around in his Lincoln Town Car or Chevy pickup truck and usually maxes out at 80 or 85 mph.
“I’ve never had a high-performance car,” said Ribbs, who lives in Driftwood, Texas. “Never needed one. I made a living in one. My dad had several Ferraris. I just never had an interest (off the track). Going real fast requires a lot of concentration, and I don’t need to focus like that anymore.”
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