The Color of Success.(Column)

Byline: Dutch Mandel

America's stick-and-ball sports public was recently introduced to Briton Lewis Hamilton courtesy of ESPN. Car guys have known him, but I was still interested to see how it played out on TV. Hamilton shared the screen with golfer Tiger Woods, and I wondered whether they were coupled because each is phenomenal at what he does or because of skin color.

The former I understand completely, and applaud; the latter does little more than promote racial stereotypes. That I do not abide.

In Hamilton, I see a racer first, a superstar rising above a field of egos who all consider themselves the best in the world. (In 1998, AutoWeek put Hamilton, then 13, on the cover as one of 10 "secret people'' we predicted would change our car-enthusiast lives.)

Can't people see Hamilton as Senna- or Schumacher-esque and not shackle him to Tiger or Jackie? Yes, he is black and is the first black man to race in Formula One. And he is also rewriting F1 history. Yet he does not do this as a result of skin color but through talent, skill, determination and equipment. Skin color has no bearing on these stellar accomplishments.

As of this writing, he has finished in the top three positions ...