Ribbs Enjoying Quiet Life After Barrier Breaking Career in Racing
February 20, 2017 | By Phillip B. Wilson
If he were President of the United States, Willy T. Ribbs says one of his first executive orders would be to mandate that all teenagers spend a summer working on a ranch.
That’s what he did for four formative years on a 300-acre spread in California. That’s where his grandfather, Henry, became a profound influence in making Ribbs a man.
“Every kid in America would have to spend a summer on a ranch somewhere,” Ribbs said of his presidential promise, “and teach ‘em how to get their hands dirty, how to sweat, learn how to work. That’s how I grew up. It wasn’t whether I wanted to or not. My grandfather laid down the law.
“That experience of him keeping his foot in my ass and demanding that you be tough physically and mentally and you never quit was definitely the foundation that helped me build my career.”
A determined Ribbs made a name for himself in various forms of racing, most notably in 1991 as the first black driver in the Indianapolis 500. As part of Black History Month, Ribbs is remembered for breaking that color barrier with two starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A historical documentary on his life and racing career, directed by Nate Adams and Adam Carolla, is expected to be released in June. The film includes testimonials as well as archival interviews with racing’s legendary names including Bobby, Al Jr. and Robby Unser, Bernie Ecclestone, Humpy Wheeler, Derrick Walker and the late Paul Newman.
“It’s about a person that wasn’t going to be denied,” Ribbs said Thursday. “The part that’s most prideful is I wasn’t going to be denied, I wasn’t going to quit. I banged heads. I went toe to toe. And I won.”
Ribbs, 62, reflects on his career while enjoying quiet, country life in Dripping Springs, Texas. His father, William “Bunny” Ribbs Sr., also raced and was an influence, but Henry had founded Ribbs Plumbing Company and earned the money that inevitably allowed Ribbs to seek a racing career in Europe.
“Oh, he was tough,” Ribbs said of his grandfather. “That’s not to say my dad or my uncle weren’t tough, but my grandfather was old school. He was born in 1899. Growing up with him, there were no excuses. You did what you were told and you did not ask why. You did it and you knew it was for a good reason.
“It was what he pounded into my head on the ranch, ‘You do not accept defeat.’ And it wasn’t one of those sit-down, fire-side chats. He always talked to you while we were working. With him, it was work. You worked hard. He was up every morning before the sun was up, and you had to be up with him. He always lectured you while you were working.”
And Henry, back then, hated racing. He saw his own son spend business money to pursue that passion, which subsequently resulted in Henry developing a genuine disdain for the sport, what he deemed a “dark money pit.”
“My dad did it as a hobby and he was spending up a lot of the family business money doing it,” Ribbs said. “My dad would never talk about racing around my grandfather. When I was living with him, I would sort of ask my grandfather what he would think, while we were out working, ‘What would you think if I wanted to be a race driver?’ He said, ‘You’re a God-damned fool.’ Those were his exact words. He used to call it automobile racing.”
But Ribbs was determined. He won the Dunlop Championship in his first season in Europe. He won six races in 11 starts in the Formula Ford Series. Upon returning to the U.S., Ribbs continued to succeed in the SCCA Trans Am Series. His path included stints in NASCAR.
After two unsuccessful attempts to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1984 and 1985, he returned with Raynor Motorsports to drive a Buick Lola T9000 in 1991. He qualified 29th and finished 32nd. His engine failed after five laps.
Two years later with Walker Racing, he qualified 30th and finished 21st with 194 laps completed.
He was unable to qualify the next year, but he had made his place in the history books.
“It was what I loved to do,” he said. “I loved defying the odds. I loved someone telling me, ‘Well, you can’t do that.’ Watch. I love it. That was probably the biggest motivator for Willy T. Ribbs.”
He reminds his pure motivation was to race, not to pave a path for his race.
“When it comes to what happened in my career, that was not the motivating factor,” he said. “I studied Jack Johnson, I studied of course Jackie Robinson and Arthur Ashe. Right up to today, with the swimmers and the gymnasts and the history they have made at the Olympics, but in regards to my career, that wasn’t the driving force. And in all the cases I just mentioned, historically in this country, those who have made history, that wasn’t their driving force.”
He mentions his 25-year-old son, Theo, one of the best shotgun shooters in the world. He mentions what Tiger Woods did in golf. It’s not about being black.
“He does it because he enjoys it, it’s his passion,” Ribbs said of Theo. “And he wants to win.
“Every person who has made history in their profession, when it comes to black history in America, is only doing what they loved to do, just like the white person they’re competing against. They’re doing what they loved to do.”
He earned the respect of his peers, among them two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr., who remains a close friend.
“I remember those days and I saw Willy T. as a strong competitor who was extremely talented and quite honestly someone to watch out for on the race track,” Unser said. “He had challenges that none of us had ever faced.”
Ribbs enjoys returning to Indianapolis. He was in town for the 100th Indianapolis 500 presented by Penn Grade Motor Oil, and particularly enjoyed riding in the festival parade through the downtown streets.
“There were an estimated 325,000 to 400,000 in that parade route,” Ribbs said. “It was one of the greatest feelings from 400,000 people that I had ever experienced.
“It was as if it was a step back in time. Indy has always been a great city for me personally and how I’ve been received, how I was received in ’91 when I qualified and how I was received last year. It’s my second hometown.”
His grandfather, who died in 1996, eventually came around about racing. Ribbs had sent newspaper clippings about his European accomplishments.
“Finally in 1985, he was 86 years old, I told my dad I’m going to invite grandpa to a Trans Am race and watch me at Sears Point,” Ribbs said. “My dad laughed and says, ‘You’re grandfather’s not going to come to that.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m going to invite him and I bet you he’s going to come.’
“Sure enough, my grandfather had a driver bring him to Sears Point to watch me race and I won the race. After I came from the press conference, there were some of the media there interviewing my grandfather and what he thought, I got to him and the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘You did a good job. What could you have done better?’ Those were his first words, in typical Henry fashion. I said, ‘Well, I could have lapped ‘em.’”
Then came a second question that proved to be equally meaningful and memorable. Henry asked Willy how much the driver earned from the win.
“I said, ‘About $15,000,’” Ribbs recalled. “He said, ‘$15,000, for one hours work? You keep doing that.’”