Photo credit: Mike Meadows.
By Holly Cain
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (October 31, 2024) – The grand room at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America was eclectic, but the admiration was fully consistent. Nearly 100 people attended a private and very personal celebration of Lyn St. James’ 50 years in racing last Wednesday night.
Fittingly enough, in a building honoring racing legends, a tribute to this amazing trailblazer and competitor took people for a high-speed inside look at St. James’ celebrated career and life. It was her exclamation point.
There were longtime loyal friends, former team owners, former crew members and teammates – competitors and even one-time rivals who admired St. James’ moxie and appreciate her massive contributions to the sport. Then and very much still now.
IMSA President John Doonan served as host and gladly reminisced with the audience about St. James’ accomplishments through multiple racing genres. She ran at the Bonneville Salt Flats and worked alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott to post a record speed lap at Talladega Superspeedway.
In 1992, she became the first woman to be named the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, acknowledging of her time there: “The month of May was like Christmas every day,” she said.
St. James’ celebrated sports car career included six IMSA wins and 13 podiums – and Doonan helped arrange for three of her cars – two GTO class cars she drove to wins and a Ford Mustang Probe GTP prototype – to be at the event. As St. James took the covers off each, the sentimental value and important memories were evident in her facial expressions and the background stories she shared.
Before the evening event, St. James drove a Ford GT owned by Kevin Doran Racing during an afternoon Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) practice at Daytona International Speedway – in what may well be her last time behind the wheel of a race car – her “50-year Anniversary Ride.”
And probably not too surprising to those that know her, it wasn’t just a single sentimental parade lap, it was multiple laps at speed. She ran the entire 40-minute practice session.
That is St. James.
“I remember saying to Kevin (Doran), at some time in my life I know I’m going to be turning the last laps in a race car and that’s what this was about,’’ St. James said.
“It was closure. Close the book, close the chapter. I didn’t feel sad. And the tribe was there, the people that knew this and are part of my life. It was closure, it was gratifying but it wasn’t sad.
“It was perfect.”
As was the evening.
Even for those who have known St. James, some of the details she shared about her beginnings, her challenges and her triumphs were fresh and remarkable.
Five decades of competition in the highest level of the sport resulted from a passion and determination she had and developed in the early 1970s, born after a trip to the 1972 Rolex 24 At Daytona and initially guided by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), where she made her racing debut in a 1973 Ford Pinto equipped with a roll bar and fire extinguisher – a car she also drove to work during the week.
“I don’t know if I found racing or racing found me,’’ she shared with a smile.
After success in the SCCA ranks, she decided to take it to the next level after reading a story entitled, “Ford and Feminism” in Car and Driver magazine in 1978 – realizing opportunity was there but she would have to work at it.
“It’s all about how you want it and how hard are you willing to work for it,” St. James reminded the room – sharing stories of a pro-celebrity race she competed in and her interaction with Mario Andretti, who was so encouraging while other drivers condescendingly asked who her “professional” driver was.
Stories of how hard it was to find a women’s bathroom in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage decades ago. Stories of great friendships, partnerships and achievement – involving so many who took the time to share in St. James’ evening.
St. James has flown with both the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels, been celebrated by United States presidents from celebrities like Jay Leno to rock stars. And as the photos of her with Arrow McLaren Formula One boss Zak Brown or NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon or the countless young aspiring women competitors she has mentored prove, she always been a favorite and role model for men and women alike.
St. James is a longtime advocate for women in the sport and the perpetual need to fill more roles whether it be in the pits, in the team front office, behind the wheel or selling sponsorships. She is a co-founder of Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA) and has long provided the ultimate support and push for women to gain opportunity – a passionate life’s work in the spotlight that has proven to be as significant as her time behind the wheel.
As St. James spoke at the end of the evening, the message was not only about her accomplishments but about her gratitude for those who helped her to accomplish. Her very first driving instructor, her crew members, her close friends – those that believed in her, supported her, celebrated with her.
As the evening came to a close, St. James asked the room to raise a glass in a final toast to her friend, longtime engineer and car designer Bob Riley, who passed away last week. He was another that made a difference for her – in a career and life that continues to make a difference for so many others.
“It’s about the people, some who may not have even realized how important they are to me, the gifts they gave me that enabled me to keep going, so it this was a big deal to me,” she said.
“It’s the best sport in the world and it brings us together.”