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Lyn St. James

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Lyn St. James
St. James smiling
St. James at the 2015 Indianapolis 500
NationalityAmerican
BornEvelyn Gene Cornwall
(1947-03-13) March 13, 1947 (age 77)[1]
Willoughby, Ohio, U.S.
Retired2001
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
Years active1996–2001
TeamsZunne Group Racing
Team Scandia
Hemelgarn Racing
Dick Simon Racing
Starts5
Wins0
Poles0
Best finish8th Orlando in 1996
Previous series
1992–1995CART
Awards
1992Indy 500 Rookie of the Year

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 30 years until Jimmie Johnson won it when he was 46 in 2022).[2] She also has two class victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona,[3] and won the GTO class, partnering with Calvin Fish and Robby Gordon, at the 1990 12 Hours of Sebring.[4] Additionally she has competed in endurance racing in Europe, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, at which her AMC Spirit AMX team [5] placed first and second in class in 1979.[6][7]

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.[8]

In 1986, she 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.[9]

Career

[edit]

Achievements

[edit]

Lyn 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,[10] 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.[11]

Awards

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Speed Records

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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.[12]

Racing record

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12 Hours of Sebring results

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

24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1989 United Kingdom Spice Engineering United Kingdom Ray Bellm
United Kingdom Gordon Spice
Spice SE89C-Ford C1 229 DNF DNF
1991 NetherlandsEuro Racing
JapanA.O. Racing
South Africa Desiré Wilson
France Cathy Muller
Spice SE90C-Ford C1 47 DNF DNF

American Open Wheel racing results

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(key)

CART

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Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref
1992 Dick Simon Racing SRF
PHX
LBH
INDY
11
DET
POR
MIL
NHA
TOR
MIC
CLE
ROA
VAN
MDO
NAZ
LS
31st 2 [13]
1993 Dick Simon Racing SRF
PHX
13
LBH
17
INDY
25
MIL
DET
DNQ
POR
20
CLE
23
TOR
MIC
22
NHA
ROA
VAN
MDO
NAZ
LS
36th 0 [14]
1994 Dick Simon Racing SRF
PHX
LBH
INDY
19
MIL
DET
POR
CLE
TOR
MIC
MDO
NHA
VAN
ROA
NAZ
LS
48th 0 [15]
1995 Dick Simon Racing MIA
SRF
PHX
LBH
NAZ
INDY
32
MIL
20
DET
POR
ROA
TOR
CLE
MIC
17
MDO
NHA
VAN
LS
39th 0 [16]

IndyCar

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Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points Ref
1996 Simon/Scandia Racing WDW
8
12th 186 [17]
Team Scandia PHX
21
Zunne Group Racing INDY
14
1996–97 Hemelgarn Racing NHM LVS WDW PHX INDY
13
TXS PPIR CLT NH2 LV2 42nd 22 [18]
1998 Lyn St. James Racing WDW
PHX
INDY
DNQ
TXS
NHM
DOV
CLT
PPIR
ATL
TX2
LVS
NC [19]
1999 Team Pelfrey WDW
PHX
CLT
INDY
DNQ
TXS
PPIR
ATL
DOV
PPI2
LVS
TX2
NC [20]
2000 Dick Simon Racing WDW
PHX
LVS
INDY
32
TXS
PPIR
ATL
KTY
TX2
49th 1 [21]

Indianapolis 500

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Female closed circuit speed record attempt car
Year Chassis Engine Start Finish
1992 Lola Chevrolet 27 11
1993 Lola Ford-Cosworth 21 25
1994 Lola Ford-Cosworth 6 19
1995 Lola Ford-Cosworth 28 32
1996 Lola Ford-Cosworth 18 14
1997 Dallara Infiniti 34 13
1998 G-Force Infiniti DNQ
1999 G-Force Oldsmobile DNQ
2000 G-Force Oldsmobile 32 32

American Le Mans Series results

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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 G SEB ATL MOS SON POR PET
ovr:Ret
cls:Ret
MON LSV 90th 0

Personal

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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.[22]

References

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  1. ^ Brown, Gerry; Morrison, Michael (6 November 2007). ESPN Sports Almanac 2008: America's Best-Selling Sports Almanac. ESPN Books. ISBN 9781933060385. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Was Rubens Barrichello the oldest man ever to be "Rookie of the Year" at Indianapolis?". ESPN UK. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  3. ^ "Lyn St. James Racing History". Sports Car Club of America. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  4. ^ "1990 12 Hours of Sebring Results". Racing Sports Car. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  5. ^ AMC Spirit#AMXs at the Nürburgring
  6. ^ Mattar, George (February 2005). "AMC Invades Germany – circa 1979". Hemmings Muscle Machines. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  7. ^ "When the Americans Conquered the Nurburgring with an AMC Spirit". R&T Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  8. ^ "Meet the National Motorsports Appeals Panel". NASCAR.com. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  9. ^ "IMSA LA Times Grand Prix big accident at Riverside International Raceway". YouTube. 22 February 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Florida Sports Hall of Fame".
  11. ^ "Lyn St. James Achievements".
  12. ^ "Blackhawk Automotive Museum".
  13. ^ "Lyn St. James – 1992 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "Lyn St. James – 1993 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  15. ^ "Lyn St. James – 1994 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  16. ^ "Lyn St. James – 1995 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  17. ^ "Lyn St. James – 1996 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  18. ^ "Lyn St. James – 1997 Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  19. ^ "Lyn St. James – 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  20. ^ "Lyn St. James – 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  21. ^ "Lyn St. James – 2000 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  22. ^ Eversley, Ryan; Heckman, Sean (December 15, 2017). "Lyn St. James". Dinner with Racers. Season 3. Episode 79. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by Indianapolis 500
Rookie of the Year

1992
Succeeded by