Lyn St. James (born Evelyn Gene Cornwall; March 13, 1947) is an American former

race car driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

. She competed in the

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

series, with eleven

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

and five

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

starts to her name. St. James is one of nine women who have qualified for the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

, and became the first woman to win the

Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year The Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year is an annual award "presented to the driver who has performed with the most distinction among first-year drivers in the Indianapolis 500." Criteria includes "on-track performance in practice, qualifying an ...

award (oldest to win the award at 45, a record she held 30 years until

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

won it when he was 46 in 2022). She also has two

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

victories at the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...

, and won the GTO class, partnering with

Calvin Fish Calvin Fish (born 22 July 1961 in Norwich) is a British television commentator for NBC Sports and a former racing driver. Fish began his career in karts at 13. He then moved to Formula Ford in 1979 at age 18 and then British Formula Three. He ...

and

Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IROC and the Dakar Rally. He is active in top-tier off road motorsports such as BITD, NO ...

, at the 1990

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

. Additionally she has competed in endurance racing in Europe, including the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

and the

24 Hours of Nürburgring 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, at which her AMC Spirit AMX team placed first and second in class in 1979. 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 Kettering University is a private university in Flint, Michigan. It offers Bachelor of Science, bachelor of science and master's degree, master’s degrees in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM (science, technology, engineeri ...

, and since 2015, serves as an appeal panelist for

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

's ''National Motorsports Appeals Panel''. In 1986, she was driving a Ford Probe during the

IMSA The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive direc ...

LA Times Grand Prix The Los Angeles Times Grand Prix was a sports car race held at the Riverside International Raceway. The race was held throughout the track's existence, from 1957 until 1987. The race was sponsored by the ''Los Angeles Times'' to raise money for ...

Riverside International Raceway Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Riverside ...

and was in a big accident involving both

Chip Robinson Chip Robinson (born March 29, 1954, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a retired race car driver. He won the 1987 IMSA Camel GT series championship and the 1987 24 Hours of Daytona (with Al Holbert, Derek Bell, and Al Unser Jr. in a Porsche an ...

and

Doc Bundy Harry "Doc" Bundy (born January 25, 1946) from Scio, Ohio, is an American former race car driver who competed in IMSA (International Motor Sports Association), 24 Hours of Le Mans, NASCAR Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series, American Le Mans Series ...

Career

Achievements

Lyn St. James has been invited to the White House on multiple occasions, meeting with Presidents

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

George H.W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. She was also named by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' as among the “Top-100 Women Athletes of the Century." ''

Working Woman Since the industrial revolution, participation of women in the workforce outside the home has increased in industrialized nations, with particularly large growth seen in the 20th century. Largely seen as a boon for industrial society, women in ...

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 The Florida Sports Hall of Fame (FSHOF) is an association dedicated to honoring athletes with outstanding achievement in sports in Florida. It has expanded its goals to include encouraging physical fitness among Florida's citizens through the examp ...

, and is only one of two women in it for auto racing. She was also President of the

Women's Sports Foundation The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit charity focused on female involvement in sports. Founded in 1974 by tennis player Billie Jean King and initially supported by Olympic athletes Donna de Varona and Suzy Chaf ...

from 1990-1993.

Speed Records

Lyn St. James became the first woman driver to reach over 200 mph on a race track. She drove a number of different cars including Aston Martin, Porsche, Ferrari, and Mazda, but for the majority of her career she drove a Ford Mustang. She used a Ford Thunderbird to break a closed course record for women with 227.32 mph.

Racing record

12 Hours of Sebring results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

American Open Wheel racing results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

CART

IndyCar

Indianapolis 500

American Le Mans Series results

Personal

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 name of actress

Susan Saint James Susan Saint James (born Susan Jane Miller; August 14, 1946) is an American actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially the detective series ''McMillan & Wife'' (1971–1976) and ...

. Upon her divorce from Carusso, she legally changed her name to Lyn St. James.

References

External links

Lyn St. James official website

Driver Database stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:St. James, Lyn 1947 births Living people People from Willoughby, Ohio Indianapolis 500 drivers Champ Car drivers American female racing drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year IndyCar Series drivers Female IndyCar Series drivers Kettering University 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Trans-Am Series drivers Racing drivers from Ohio World Sportscar Championship drivers Women's Sports Foundation executives 21st-century American women Team Pelfrey drivers