In collaboration with the History Book Festival, join us for a talk with Bill Lester, author of Winning in Reverse: Defying the Odds and Achieving Dreams, an offering of the 2021 virtual History Book Festival. Joining Bill in conversation is author Jonathan Ingram.

NASCAR has traditionally been a Southern, white man’s sport, but that changed when Bill Lester entered the field. Lester did not grow up in the sport as many drivers have. He raced as a side hobby while working as an engineer until, at the age of 37, he quit his job to pursue racing full time. Lester had a trifecta of odds against him: he was Black, middle-aged, and not a Southerner, and many fans did not hide their contempt. Winning in Reverse explains how he was able to rise above it all  and make history time and again, becoming the first African American to race in NASCAR’s Busch Series, and the first to participate in the Nextel Cup.

Bill Lester received several awards during his racing career, including the Trailblazer in Motor Sports Award and the Jackie Robinson Award from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and the Sam Lacy Pioneer Award from the National Association of Black Journalists. 

Jonathan Ingram is known for his definitive books and articles on motor racing. He has awards from the National Motorsports Press Association and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

We invite you to support the author by purchasing copy of their book from Browseabout Books. Call-in orders are accepted at (302) 226-2665 or you can stop by the store to purchase a copy. For store hours, please visit their website. Each copy purchased comes with a signed bookplate.

NOTE: this meeting is being conducted through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER to receive instructions for joining the meeting.

If you have need assistance with registration or getting your Zoom invitation, please email the History Book Festival.

Basic written instructions for using Zoom may be found here and a brief video tutorial may be found here. Closed captioning is available for this session. Information on enabling closed captioning in Zoom may be found here.