Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James (born Evelyn Gene Cornwall; March 13, 1947) is an American former racecar 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 (to date, the oldest driver to ever win the award at 45).[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]
Lyn St. James | |
---|---|
St. James at the 2015 Indianapolis 500 | |
Nationality | |
Born | Carol Gene Cornwall March 13, 1947[1] Willoughby, Ohio, U.S. |
Retired | 2001 |
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series | |
Years active | 1996–2001 |
Teams | Zunne Group Racing Team Scandia Hemelgarn Racing Dick Simon Racing |
Starts | 5 |
Wins | 0 |
Poles | 0 |
Best finish | 8th Orlando in 1996 |
Previous series | |
1992–1995 | CART |
Awards | |
1992 | Indy 500 Rookie of the Year |
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]
Career
Achievements
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[9], 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.[10]
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.[11]
Racing record
12 Hours of Sebring results
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | Chevrolet Corvette | GTO | 186 | 17th | 6th | ||
1979 | Ferrari 365 GTB/4 | GTO | 194 | 17th | 8th | ||
1980 | Porsche 935 | GTX | 87 | DNF | DNF | ||
1983 | Nimrod NRA/C2-Aston Martin | GTP | 224 | 5th | 3rd | ||
1987 | Ford Mustang | GTO | 213 | 31st | 9th | ||
1988 | Mercury Merkur XR4Ti | GTO | 282 | 8th | 2nd | ||
1990 | Mercury Cougar XR-7 | GTO | 278 | 6th | 1st | ||
1998 | Kudzu DL-4-Chevrolet | GTO | 283 | 17th | 4th |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Spice SE89C-Ford | C1 | 229 | DNF | DNF | ||
1991 | Spice SE90C-Ford | C1 | 47 | DNF | DNF |
American Open Wheel racing results
(key)
CART
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Dick Simon Racing | SRF |
PHX |
LBH |
IND 11 |
DET |
POR |
MIL |
NHA |
TOR |
MIC |
CLE |
ROA |
VAN |
MDO |
NAZ |
LS |
31st | 2 | |
1993 | Dick Simon Racing | SRF |
PHX 13 |
LBH 17 |
IND 25 |
MIL |
DET DNQ |
POR 20 |
CLE 23 |
TOR |
MIC 22 |
NHA |
ROA |
VAN |
MDO |
NAZ |
LS |
36th | 0 | |
1994 | Dick Simon Racing | SRF |
PHX |
LBH |
IND 19 |
MIL |
DET |
POR |
CLE |
TOR |
MIC |
MDO |
NHA |
VAN |
ROA |
NAZ |
LS |
48th | 0 | |
1995 | Dick Simon Racing | MIA |
SRF |
PHX |
LBH |
NAZ |
IND 32 |
MIL 20 |
DET |
POR |
ROA |
TOR |
CLE |
MIC 17 |
MDO |
NHA |
VAN |
LS |
39th | 0 |
IndyCar
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Simon/Scandia Racing | WDW 8 |
12th | 186 | ||||||||||
Team Scandia | PHX 21 |
|||||||||||||
Zunne Group Racing | INDY 14 |
|||||||||||||
1996–97 | Hemelgarn Racing | NHM |
LVS |
WDW |
PHX |
INDY 13 |
TXS DNQ |
PPIR |
CLT |
NH2 |
LV2 |
42nd | 22 | |
1998 | Lyn St. James Racing | WDW |
PHX |
INDY DNQ |
TXS |
NHM |
DOV |
CLT |
PPIR |
ATL |
TX2 |
LVS |
NC | – |
1999 | Lyn St. James Racing | WDW |
PHX |
CLT |
INDY DNQ |
TXS |
PPIR |
ATL |
DOV |
PPI2 |
LVS |
TX2 |
NC | – |
2000 | Dick Simon Racing | WDW |
PHX |
LVS |
INDY 32 |
TXS |
PPIR |
ATL |
KTY |
TX2 |
49th | 1 |
Indianapolis 500
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 |
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. Upon her divorce from Carusso, she legally changed her name to Lyn St. James.[12]
References
- Brown, Gerry; Morrison, Michael (6 November 2007). "ESPN Sports Almanac 2008: America's Best-Selling Sports Almanac". ESPN Books. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
- "Was Rubens Barrichello the oldest man ever to be "Rookie of the Year" at Indianapolis?". ESPN UK. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- "Lyn St. James Racing History". Sports Car Club of America. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- "1990 12 Hours of Sebring Results". Racing Sports Car. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- AMC_Spirit#AMXs_at_the_Nürburgring
- Mattar, George (February 2005). "AMC Invades Germany – circa 1979". Hemmings Muscle Machines. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
- "When the Americans Conquered the Nurburgring with an AMC Spirit". R&T Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- "Meet the National Motorsports Appeals Panel". NASCAR.com. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- "Florida Sports Hall of Fame".
- "Lyn St. James Achievements".
- "Blackhawk Automative Museum".
- Eversley, Ryan; Heckman, Sean (December 15, 2017). "Lyn St. James". Dinner with Racers. Season 3. Episode 79. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
External links
- Lyn St. James official website
- Driver Database stats
- Lyn St. James driver statistics at Racing-Reference
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Jeff Andretti |
Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 1992 |
Succeeded by Nigel Mansell |