America's Next Racing Hero Is Black, and His Name Is Myles Rowe

One fateful morning, a young Myles Rowe was watching golf on TV, when during a commercial break his father picked up the remote and changed the channel. They didn't know it at the time, but in that moment Rowe's father also changed his son's life. The next channel over just happened to be the broadcast of an F1 race, and Rowe caught a glimpse of two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso piloting his bright blue and yellow Renault. From then on,Rowe knew he was going to be a race car driver.

One of the great things about motorsports is that it's easy to become a fan. Drivers are like heroes piloting dream machines, and both the car and driver are pushed to their limits at speed. On paper, racing is almost a perfect sport. Though, it certainly isn't without its flaws. Politics, shady sponsors, and dubious officiating have all plagued professional motorsports for decades. Add to those challenges a lack of diversity—in open-wheel racing, specifically—an issue that has, unfortunately, gone largely ignored.

We have heard all the excuses before. No, it's not "just a coincidence." No, it's not because "Black people aren't that interested" in racing. Issues of diversity in open wheel racing are rooted in external societal issues and systemic issues within sanctioning bodies, and either way, Black racing fans are tired of not being adequately represented in open wheel racing. This year marks the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. In those 108 years, there have only beentwoBlack drivers to participate: Willy T. Ribbs in 1991 and George Mack in 2002. OnlytwoBlack drivers in over a century? It's obvious there is a problem plaguing motorsports in general, though IndyCar shines a harsh light on them. Myles Rowe may just be the catalyst for a sorely needed solution, and the next Black driver to reach the 500.

Rowe didn't get his start in open wheel racing through the traditional—and very expensive—way. Instead, he started with indoor karting at a local facility. Despite the humble beginnings, a young Rowe took each race weekend seriously. When he wasn't at the indoor kart track on the weekend, Rowe would hone his craft on an improvised racing simulator made from some couch cushions, pillows, and a laptop propped up on some books.

Rowe's hard work paid off. He excelled in karts and eventually caught the attention of two-time Indy Car Champion and 2018 Indy 500 winner Will Power, who recommended Rowe to Rod Reid who had just launched Force Indy, an open wheel racing team with a specific focus to provide motorsports opportunities for Black youth and other minorities. Reid ultimately signed Rowe as the team's first driver.

Rowe is well on his way to becoming the third Black driver to enter the Indy 500 in22 years. Making history isn't new for Rowe. He made motorsports headlines when he became the first Black racer to win an Indy Car sanctioned event in 2021 with a victory in USF2000 series. History was made again when Rowe was crowned the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Champion, making him the first Black racer to win an American open-wheel championship.

See All 28 Photos28

Winning the USF Pro 2000 title also secured Rowe a seat in the Indy NXT series for 2024. Indy NXT is a series that feeds directly to IndyCar. If Rowe can do well in NXT, then he will be that much closer to his goal of entering and winning the Indy 500 in 2025.

There are going to be a lot of eyes on the 23-year-old driver going into this season, a near certainty since he crossed the finish line in Portland to secure the USF Pro 2000 Championship. Though from Rowe's point of view, pressure was the last thing on his mind in the moment. "It was such a crazy feeling of calmness," says Rowe. "It was such a weird euphoric state of calmness and peace. I just took it as something I was always supposed to do through the efforts I made in the past and through the alignment of everything connecting together. It just felt like I was one with the Earth and everything going on."

How does Rowe find the "calmness" in the chaos and adrenaline that comes from such an intense, mentally demanding sport like racing? "I think it all depends on the person," says Rowe. "I am spiritual and just very introspective. I try to be as self-aware as possible. In order to make those steps to grow with those attributes in mind, you need to learn how to have a clear head, funnel out the noise, and only listen to signals. That is basically what every sport is; focusing on your craft. Not getting lost in the fans. Not getting lost in what your competitors are doing. That comes through meditation and the passion and motivation to be as self-aware and introspective as possible."

From Rowe's DIY childhood racing simulator to his sense of determination and focus that helped him earn his 2023 title, it's easy to see that he has a strong competitive spirit. Generally speaking, high-level competitors want to be known for their skill above all else, yet Rowe obviously is in a unique position. How does he balance his competitive desire to be known for his skill with the fact that he is also representing everyone who looks like him?

"It's a tricky balance," says Rowe. "It's interesting because a lot of people tell me I'm very humble, which is a good compliment I assume. But sometimes family and friends sometimes say I'm too humble. I think that plays into that balance where sometimes I try not to push that into the narrative so much that I'm the only person that looks like me in the field. Look at my performance, my results and my actions. This is where the introspection comes from. It comes from a fear of being just a little too animated between the fear of not representing your community and what you stand for.

It's a tough one because it was from listening to the 'audience' telling me 'you'rethis, you'rethatwhen I'm not supposed to be listening to any of that. I'm supposed to just listen to my heart and what I think is right. I'm starting to grow out of that in terms of trying to get approval from outside sources. I think I'll start to put that into the narrative more naturally [and] make sure I tell that side of my story but in my own way."

In my conversations with Rowe, it was the first time I've heard him mention "fear" inanycapacity. I thought about the depth of what he's saying. Because of the position he's in, who he is, and what he looks like, it's natural that there might be at least some anxiety from thinking about how his words and actions will be interpreted.

See All 28 Photos28

"It's not even a fear of fans," says Rowe. "It's fear of the industry itself having a certain view on me. A good example is Willy [T. Ribbs]. Willy was super strong and vocal, and I think that came from a lot of self-approval. He was really just one with himself; didn't give a f___ what anyone else said. I think the fear comes from giving too much of a f___ about what other people are going to say. I'm not fearful of saying something that that might reflect on my community; it's really the motorsports community which is mainly a white-dominated industry."

Rowe's concerns are intrinsically connected to the Black experience. When we speak up about lack of diversity in a space we're told not "play the race card" and to enter those spaces on skill, merit, whatever. Yet, when someone like Myles Rowe forges their own path into a white-dominated sport and even wins a championship he still gets comments on social media questioning the validity of his success.

"I've seen those comments," says Rowe. "I'm a competitor. I know my skill and I know my worth. It's noise versus signals. That's all just noise in the background. I train myself as a competitor to learn how to differentiate things I need to listen to from things that I can just throw out.

It's really just ignorant because they're [negative commenters] are speaking on a truth but they have no substance to it. Like saying that I only got on Force Indy because I'm a Black driver. Okay, sure but we're forgetting all about the lack of opportunity foranydiverse drivers, engineers, mechanics because of the color of their skin. I mean we're talking about 10 to 50 different people that should've had my opportunity that are either dead or too old to take advantage of it now.

It's really just about catching up. I'm basically the spirit of Rajo Jack [Dewey "Rajo Jack" Gatson] coming back and taking the opportunity that he never got. It's not really because I'm Black; it's because there's opportunities that so many individuals weren't able to take. I could have been Hispanic; I could have been Asian; It just so happened to be that I'm Black. They [negative commenters] don't have the whole truth. It's just about giving skill a chance and skill comes from many different places."

The "catching up" and missed opportunities that Rowe refers to describe the root problem: a lack of diversity in motorsports. How many Myles Rowes did we miss in IndyCar because of racism? How many seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton's did we miss? How many Willy T. Ribbs? The talent lost to gatekeeping, closed doors, and narrow minds is immeasurable.

It's time to ignore the racist platitudes of those who complain about creating opportunities for the under-represented. Contrary to what people like that may think, increasing diversityis not tantamount to lowering standards. Myles Rowe is a living example of that. He doesn't come from generational wealth (often needed for up-and-coming drivers who compete in pricey, travel-intensive karting series), or a legacy of racers that dates back decades. All he needed was the support of his family and for someone to give his skill a chance.

Inevitably, a whole generation of Black motorsport fans are going to watch Rowe's rise and want to follow in his footsteps. Many of them will very likely have to deal with some of those same racist, ignorant commenters, but Rowe has sage advice.

See All 28 Photos28

"They should try their hardest to turn that negative mentality into a positive mentality," says Rowe. "Use that as fuel. Anything negative coming from outside sources, you have to train your mind to use it as positive fuel where it's your success and your support system's success.

That's how we grow, and that's how we become the people we were always meant to be. It's just mental, and once you switch to that mindset you can be the strongest, most powerful person."

As part ofMotorTrend's Black History Month celebration, each week in February you'll hear from one of the African American people who help shape the automotive industry. Next up isDystany Spurlock. You can also check outour profile on Chris Harrisand onHyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker.