Lyn St. James/
Auto Racing
Lyn St. James has raced her way through the ranks since entering the auto-racing scene in 1974. St. James has been at the starting line of the Indy 500 seven times in nine years (1992-2000), for a total of 15 Indy car starts. In 2000 she was the oldest driver in the Indy 500 field at the age of 53. In 1997, after starting 34th and finishing 13th, she received the award for "most improved finishing position." She qualified sixth in the 1994 Indy 500, the highest position for a woman until 2005 when Danica Patrick qualified fourth. In 1992 she completed her first Indy 500 at the age of 45, where she was just the second woman in history to race in the event and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Her international racing highlights include: 31 closed-circuit speed records, seven top-five SCCA Trans-Am finishes and six IMSA GT victories. St. James received the 2001 Guiding Women in Sports Award from the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport and was selected by Sports Illustrated for Women as one of the "Top 100 Women Athletes of the Century" and by Working Woman as one of "350 Women Who Changed The World Between 1976-1996." In 1999 she co-founded the Women’s Global Series, developed to provide opportunities and showcase the talents of women drivers. St. James serves on numerous boards, including Kettering University, Indiana Governor’s Council for Physical Fitness and Sports (Vice Chair), Human Performance International, and O’var Coming Together. St. James is a former chair of the Women’s Sports Foundation Governance Committee and has served as both president (1990-1993) and a member of the board of trustees (1988-1993). In 1988, she was a finalist for the Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year Award.
In 1994 St. James established the Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation, an organization that is dedicated to providing education and leadership programs, including driver development for upcoming young, talented female drivers. In May of 2003 it launched an annual event that celebrates the success of women in racing while helping to build stronger ties amongst each other and with leaders in the Motorsports community. St. James released her second book titled "Oh By the Way..." She completed the biography titled "The Ride of Your Life - A Race Car Driver’s Journey" in May of 2002. St. James is an avid speaker at events for businesses and corporations all over the world. (9/08)
For more information about Lyn, visit www.lynstjames.com.