William Alexander Lester III (born February 6, 1961) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver.

Since his retirement from driving, Lester has worked as a member of the NASCAR National Motorsports Appeals Panel.

He made his IMSA debut in 1900 at Sears Point International Raceway, qualifying ninth and finishing 1st in a Chevrolet Camaro.

He did not race professionally again until 1996, running SCCA events at Watkins Glen, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Sears Point, and Reno, Nevada.

After he was unable to find another ride in NASCAR, he left in 2008 to return to sports car racing.

[2] The team was revealed as David Gilliland Racing on March 12, with local Ford dealerships and Camping World as his sponsors.

3 Riley Daytona Prototype for Southard Motorsports in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, partnering with Shane Lewis.

For 2011, Lester moved to the GT category with Autohaus Motorsports and their Chevrolet Camaro team.

On May 14, 2011, Lester made sports car history by becoming the first African-American driver to win in any Grand-Am division.

Fittingly, Lester won at the Virginia International Raceway, located close to the home of NASCAR's first African-American winner, Wendell Scott.

[6] Fresh out of college, he worked at Hewlett-Packard for 15 years before deciding to focus full-time on auto racing.

[7] Lester lives in Windermere, Florida with his wife Cheryl, and their sons William Alexander IV (Alex) and Austin Richard.