Lyn St. James

Lyn St. James (born Evelyn Gene Cornwall, March 13, 1947) is an American former race car driver. She competed in the IndyCar series, with eleven CART and five Indy Racing League starts to her name. St. James is one of nine women who have qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award (oldest to win the award at 45, a record she held for thirty years until Jimmie Johnson won it when he was 46 in 2022). She also has two class victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and won the GTO class, partnering with Calvin Fish and Robby Gordon, at the 1990 12 Hours of Sebring. Additionally she has competed in endurance racing in Europe, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, run in 1979 only for near-stock Group 1 (motorsport) cars, at which her AMC Spirit AMX team placed first and second in class.

St. James founded the Women in the Winner's Circle Foundation in 1994 and is a motivational speaker. She has served on the board of trustees of Kettering University, and since 2015, serves as an appeal panelist for NASCAR's National Motorsports Appeals Panel.

In 1986, St. James was driving a Ford Probe during the IMSA LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside International Raceway and was in a big accident involving both Chip Robinson and Doc Bundy.

Career Achievements St. James has been invited to the White House on multiple occasions, meeting with Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. She was also named by Sports Illustrated as among the “Top-100 Women Athletes of the Century." Working Woman Magazine added her to the “Top 350 Women who changed the world between 1976-1996.” In 1994, she was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, and is only one of two women in it for auto racing. She was also President of the Women's Sports Foundation from 1990-1993. She was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2023.

Speed records St. James set the world closed-course speed record for women three times. She became the first woman driver to reach over 200 mph on a race track when she drove a Ford Mustang Probe GTP to a lap of 204.223 mph at Talladega Superspeedway in 1985. In 1988, she used a Ford Thunderbird stock car to set the mark at 212.577 mph. During qualifying for the 1995 Indianapolis 500, St. James ran a lap of 225.722 mph.

Racing record

12 Hours of Sebring results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1978 Autodyne Luis Sereix Phil Currin Chevrolet Corvette GTO 186 17th 6th 1979 Thunderbird Swap-Shop Bonnie Henn Janet Guthrie Ferrari 365 GTB/4 GTO 194 17th 8th 1980 Condor Racing Ralph Kent-Cooke Porsche 935 GTX 87 DNF DNF 1983 Nimrod Racing Reggie Smith Drake Olson Nimrod NRA/C2-Aston Martin GTP 224 5th 3rd 1987 Roush Racing Tom Gloy Ford Mustang GTO 213 31st 9th 1988 Roush Racing Deborah Gregg Mercury Merkur XR4Ti GTO 282 8th 2nd 1990 Roush Racing Robby Gordon Calvin Fish Mercury Cougar XR-7 GTO 278 6th 1st 1998 TRV Motorsport Jeret Schroeder Tom Volk Kudzu DL-4-Chevrolet GTO 283 17th 4th

24 Hours of Le Mans results

American Open Wheel racing results (key)

CART

IndyCar

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish 1992 Lola T91/00 Chevrolet A 27 11 1993 Lola T93/00 Ford-Cosworth XB 21 25 1994 Lola T94/00 Ford-Cosworth XB 6 19 1995 Lola T95/00 Ford-Cosworth XB 28 32 1996 Lola T94/00 Ford-Cosworth XB 18 14 1997 Dallara IR-7 Nissan Infiniti 34 13 1998 G-Force GF01 Nissan Infiniti DNQ 1999 G-Force GF01 Oldsmobile Aurora DNQ 2000 G-Force GF05 Oldsmobile Aurora 32 32

American Le Mans Series results Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine Tyres 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 1999 TRV Motorsport LMP Riley & Scott Mk III Chevrolet 6.0 L V8 SEB ATL MOS SON POR PETovr:Retcls:Ret MON LSV 90th 0

Personal life Lyn St. James was born Carol Gene Cornwall, but shortly after birth, her first name was changed to Evelyn, after her aunt. After her first marriage to John Carusso, she changed her name to Lyn Carusso. Eventually she would adopt the professional name Lyn St. James in her business and racing activities. She got the idea from the name of actress Susan Saint James. Upon her divorce from Carusso, she legally changed her name to Lyn St. James.