INDY 500: Willy T Ribbs, 25 years on
Saturday, 28 May 2016

Marshall Pruett / Images by IMS Photo
Twenty-five years after Willy T. Ribbs broke the color barrier at the Indy 500, RACER spoke with the retired open-wheel and sports car ace about the 1991 race, his views on its impact, Ribbs' life today, and whether the recent scandal involving former sponsor Bill Cosby has altered their relationship.
"I thought I was going to stop traveling when I quit racing," Ribbs said of supporting his son Theo, a top marksman and competitive skeet shooter. "I'm traveling more now than ever. Theo's top five in the world. He is incredible. Tony Parella of SVRA, he is one of Theo's sponsors. And it is a good deal. And I will do anything for Tony. That [vintage] race he has at Indy every year, I told Tony 'I'll be in there when you want as long as you want.'"
As a byproduct of being the first African-American to race in the Indy 500, Ribbs hoped to see more drivers of a darker hue follow in his footsteps, just as he credited his hero and stock car driver Joie Ray for inspiring him to pursue his dreams. A quarter century later, Ribbs says Indy has succeeded in becoming more gender neutral, but that's all.
"The biggest difference is that there have been nine women that have competed in the Indianapolis 500," he continued. "That's history. There's been two African-Americans. And [George Mack] only did it once and I was there twice. It really shows that the sport has really gone nowhere in terms of its ... not 'diversity', that's a broad term ... it's gone nowhere in this country as a series for all Americans to enjoy."
Ribbs points to three-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton as the beacon for what is possible in IndyCar.
"You look at Lewis Hamilton today, for example. When I tested Bernie Ecclestone's Formula 1 car in Estoril, Portugal in 1985, that was the year that Lewis Hamilton was born. That puts it all into perspective," he said.
"You look at Lewis, what he has done for the sport of Formula 1 in terms of its market value and the image of Formula 1, how great it looks. And Bernie Ecclestone wants that for his sport. My question is: does IndyCar want it for their sport?"
Widening IndyCar's appeal to more than its traditional base is, in Ribbs' estimation, key to restoring its popularity.
"If they can't see it by looking in the stands and if they can't see it by looking at their rating numbers, then they are totally ignorant and should not be in the position that they are in," he said of the series' leadership. "The sponsors of the sport should be looking at the same picture. They should be looking into the stands. They should be looking at their TV numbers and be able to get it figured out. They couldn't be that dumb.
"Right now IndyCar ... IndyCar can't pay people to watch it. I saw the numbers from Long Beach. That, to me, after 25 years, is probably the most glaring observation."
In light of the more sensitive times we live in, Ribbs was asked whether the racial-tinged humor that took place between himself and his former employer Dan Gurney at Indy in 1991 would even be possible to carry out today.
"Well, the PC police in this country and a lot of the PC police are among the so-called mainstream media or liberal media, they need a job," he said of the odd gift exchange between the two. "Gurney would send me watermelon and fried chicken, and I'm sending him back a jar of mayonnaise. If the PC police feel that in their mind they don't like or feel it is appropriate in their mind, then they are going to attack.
"Look, I've known Dan my whole life. I know the man who I raced for and he was a mentor to me. When it came to being fair and equal and putting me on a level playing field, it was Dan Gurney. What Dan knew is I could win. And I won for him. That was Dan's number one priority, was to win.
"And then after when we were going to have the greatest champagne parties in restaurants - I mean, we shut down three restaurants one time. I mean, they had to close it down to clean the place up because there was champagne everywhere. It was very 'family'. I'm still close to members of All American Racers to this day. We had fun with each other back then, and if people didn't like it, or don't like it today, they can kiss my ..."
Ribbs will also be the subject of a new documentary produced by Adam Carolla's team in 2017, to which Willy T says, "It's going to be huge, it's going to be amazing, as my old buddy Donald Trump would say."
Ever the rebel, and rarely concerned with taking the popular viewpoint, Ribbs' loyal nature hasn't changed in reaction to the troubling charges against Bill Cosby, who backed Ribb's 1991 Indy entry. Most people would distance themselves from the alleged and accused sexual predator, but Ribbs' ride-or-die mentality won't allow that to happen.
"I'm really glad you asked, because in the last five years, that is one of the biggest changes from the standpoint in my life that is directly related to Indy. It was his money that put me in Indy. Without Cosby I would not have been there in 1991," he said.
"I'm going to back Mr. Cosby. I'm going to support him. I've never bolted from a fight. Or from backing someone who backed me. I know the kind of person he has been to me and to my family. Being a single father, his wife, Camille, helped me feed my kids when I was out of racing. I haven't forgotten that and I will never will. I'm not that way. I've never been that kind of person. I will fight for those who have fought for me."