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 April 5, 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 | 52 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 33 | 1 | [1] | |
Blake Lothian | Massachusetts | Truck Series (part-time) No. 20, Young's Motorsports | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | [2] | |
Bubba Wallace | Alabama | Cup Series (full-time) No. 23, 23XI Racing | 365 | 8 | 226 | 2 | 88 | 0 | 51 | 6 | [3] | |
Armani Williams | Michigan | ARCA Menards Series (part-time) No. 13, MBM Motorsports | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 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] | |
Jesse Iwuji | Texas | 2018 | 2023 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 16 | 0 | [14] | |
Bill Lester | Georgia | 1999 | 2021 | 146 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 143 | 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] |
Wendell Oliver Scott Sr. was an American stock car racing driver. He was the first African-American driver and team owner to compete and win in all divisions of NASCAR at its highest level.
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.
Aric Michael Almirola is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 19 and 20 Toyota Supras for Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 16 Toyota Tundra for Hattori Racing Enterprises in the NASCAR Truck Series. Almirola previously competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series as well as what are now the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West.
Stock car races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has been held at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia during the fall since 2003, when the original Martinsville Trucks race that was originally held during the fall was moved to the spring in 1999. The 200-lap 105.2 miles (169.3 km) race is currently known as Zip Buy Now Pay Later 200 for sponsorship reasons.
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 and the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. He is the son of NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek and was the 2012 champion in the Allison Legacy Series.
The 2013 Kroger 200 was a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held on October 26, 2013 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 200 laps, the race was the nineteenth of the 2013 season. Bubba Wallace of Kyle Busch Motorsports won the race. Brendan Gaughan finished second and Jeb Burton finished third.
Scott Hansen is an American stock car driver from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Now retired, Hansen primarily competed in the American Speed Association. He raced for several years in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Busch 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.
Joshua Robert Reaume is an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 22 Ford F-150 for Reaume Brothers Racing.
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.
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 in a partnership with Trackhouse Racing, 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. 71 for Rajah Caruth, and the No. 77 for Chase Purdy. They have also competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the past.
Carson Scott Hocevar is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports. He is a former member of the Drivers Edge Development driver development system.
Armani Williams is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports, and 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 James 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 GR 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 Nos. 23 and 45 Toyota teams full-time for drivers Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, as well as the No. 50 Toyota team part-time for three other drivers, including Kamui Kobayashi, Corey Heim, and Juan Pablo Montoya. They currently have a technical alliance with JGR.
Nicholas Anthony 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 one of NASCAR's three national series, joining Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace.
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.