This is a list of NASCAR drivers that have raced in one of its national or touring series who are African Americans. Many of the current drivers and some of the former drivers have previously been or are currently members of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program.
Wendell Scott (1 win) and Bubba Wallace (2 wins) are the only two drivers to have won NASCAR Cup Series races. Wallace also has 6 wins and is the first African-American winner in the Truck Series. The only other African-American winner in the Truck Series is Rajah Caruth, who has 1 win. There so far has not been an African-American driver who has won an Xfinity Series race.
These African-American drivers are currently competing in NASCAR in 2024. All statistics in this table are as of the end of August 2024.
Driver | Image | Home state | Current team and series | Total national series starts | Total national series wins | NCS Starts | NCS Wins | NXS Starts | NXS Wins | NCTS Starts | NCTS Wins | R-R Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rajah Caruth [N 1] | Washington, D.C. | Truck Series (full-time) No. 71, Spire Motorsports | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 27 | 1 | [1] | |
Jesse Iwuji | Texas | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 16 | 0 | [2] | ||
Bubba Wallace | Alabama | Cup Series (full-time) No. 23, 23XI Racing | 320 | 8 | 209 | 2 | 88 | 0 | 51 | 6 | [3] | |
Armani Williams | Michigan | ARCA Menards Series (part-time) No. 13, MBM Motorsports | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | [4] |
Driver | Image | Home state | First year active | Last year active | Total national series starts | Total national series wins | NCS Starts | NCS Wins | NXS Starts | NXS Wins | NCTS Starts | NCTS Wins | R-R Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chase Austin | Kansas | 2007 | 2010 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | [8] | |
Randy Bethea | Tennessee | 1975 | 1975 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [9] | |
Elias Bowie | California | 1955 | 1955 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [10] | |
Marc Davis | Maryland | 2008 | 2011 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | [11] | |
Bruce Driver | New Jersey | 1999 | 1999 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | [12] | |
Ryan Gifford | Tennessee | 2013 | 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [13] | |
Bill Lester | Georgia | 1999 | 2021 | 146 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 143 | 0 | [14] | |
Blake Lothian | North Carolina | 2022 | 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [15] | |
Bobby Norfleet | Georgia | 2000 | 2000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | [16] | |
Willy T. Ribbs | California | 1986 | 2001 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | [17] | |
Charlie Scott | Georgia | 1956 | 1956 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [18] | |
Wendell Scott | Virginia | 1961 | 1973 | 509 | 1 | 509 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [19] | |
Preston Tutt | Georgia | 2001 | 2001 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | [20] | |
George Wiltshire | New York | 1968 | 1987 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [21] | |
Tim Woods III | California | 2001 | 2003 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | [22] |
William Alexander Lester III is an American semi-retired professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 17 Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing. Lester previously competed full-time in the Truck Series from 2002 to midway through 2007. Lester was the NASCAR's only full-time African-American driver during that time. After that, he moved to sports car racing, competing in the Rolex Sports Car Series from 2007 to 2012. Lester had also competed part-time in the same series from 1998 to 2001.
The United Rentals 200 is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race that took place in the fall at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. The race was first run in 2003 and was the first fall Truck Series race at Martinsville since the Kroger 250 moved from the fall to the spring in 1999.
William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing.
John Hunter Nemechek is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series driving the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the son of NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek and was the 2012 champion in the Allison Legacy Series.
Rev Racing, short for Revolution Racing, is an auto racing team competing at the regional level of NASCAR as well as in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Owned by former Dale Earnhardt, Inc. president Max Siegel, the team primarily fields participants in the Drive for Diversity, an initiative to bring more minority and female drivers into the sport. In the Truck Series, the team fields the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado for Nick Sanchez. In all three ARCA Menards Series, the team currently fields two Chevrolet SS teams: The No. 2 for Andrés Pérez de Lara and the No. 6 for Lavar Scott. The team also fields late model and Legends car entries for various drivers, and has fielded entries for future NASCAR national series winners Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, and Daniel Suárez in the past.
Christopher David Bell is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage. He is the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion.
Joshua Robert Reaume is an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner. He previously competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 22 Ford F-150 for AM Racing and the No. 34 F-150 for Reaume Brothers Racing and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 11 Ford Mustang for Fast Track Racing.
Chase Briscoe is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 14 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart–Haas Racing. He also owns a World of Outlaws sprint car racing team, Chase Briscoe Racing. He won the 2016 ARCA Racing Series championship.
Alpha Prime Racing is an American stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team was founded in 2009 by Craig Martins, and fields the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Ryan Ellis full-time, the No. 44 for Brennan Poole full-time, and the No. 45 part-time for multiple drivers. The team was inactive from 2018 to 2019 and changed to their current name starting with the 2022 season.
Caesar Peter Bacarella is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 45 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. Bacarella has also driven in the ARCA Menards Series and Pirelli World Challenge.
Spire Motorsports is an American auto racing organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team is a subsidiary of Spire Sports + Entertainment. In the Cup Series, the team currently fields three Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 teams: the No. 7 for Corey LaJoie, the No. 71 for Zane Smith, and the No. 77 for Carson Hocevar. In the Truck Series, the team fields three Chevrolet Silverados: the No. 7 for multiple drivers, the No. 17 for Rajah Caruth, and the No. 77 for Chase Purdy. They have also competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the past.
Armani Williams is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 13 Toyota Camry for MBM Motorsports. He has also competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as well as what are now the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West in the past.
Taylor Gray is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 17 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.
23XI Racing is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. It is owned and operated by Hall of Fame basketball player Michael Jordan, along with current Joe Gibbs Racing driver and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. The team name represents a combination of Michael Jordan's No. 23 he wore during most of his NBA career and Denny Hamlin's No. 11 which he has driven his entire career in the Cup series. The organization fields the No. 23, 45, and 67 Toyota teams for drivers Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and TBA. They currently have a technical alliance with JGR.
Nicholas A. Sanchez is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado for Rev Racing. He is the 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion.
Rajah Kirby Caruth is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 71 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports. On March 1, 2024, Caruth won the 2024 Victoria's Voice Foundation 200, becoming the third Black driver to win in the top three NASCAR series, joining Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace.
Daniel Wayne Dye is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Silverado for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing.
Lavar Scott is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 6 Chevrolet SS for Rev Racing. He is also a current member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.
The 2024 Victoria's Voice Foundation 200 presented by Westgate Resorts was the 3rd stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the 16th iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, March 1, 2024, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in North Las Vegas, Nevada, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval shaped intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 134 laps to complete. Rajah Caruth, driving for Spire Motorsports, would take the historic win, after a successful pit road strategy which allowed him to take the lead on lap 114. With his win, he became the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race, following Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace. Ty Majeski had the most consistent run of the race, who won both stages and led a race-high 40 laps, but suffered from a pit road speeding penalty on the final pair of green flag pit stops. To fill out the podium, Tyler Ankrum, driving for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, and Corey Heim, driving for Tricon Garage, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.