Lyn St. James made her seventh and final Indianapolis 500 start in 2000, and the thrill remains more than two decades later.
“Driving under that tunnel and coming onto the grounds still gives me goosebumps,” said St. James, 75. “When the military came marching down pit lane, it took my breath away. I remember being on that grid, strapped in that car, clearing my brain so I could get ready for battle because it is a battle. It is a frickin battle.
“It is something that resonated with me when I went there as a teenager to watch the race and continues every year that I go back, whether it is a spectator, competitor or visitor. It’s a special place.”
While St. James retired from racing professionally 22 years ago, she continues to have an active voice in the sport. St. James is coming to Dearborn next week to participate in a symposium on June 1, 2022, from 4-9 p.m. at the Automotive Hall of Fame, 21400 Oakwood Street.
‘Racing at The Automotive Hall of Fame: Barrier Breakers’ will feature a screen of “Boundless: Betty Skelton,” along with panelists St. James, Beth Paretta, Cindy Sisson, Pam Miller, Taylor Ferns and Laura Wontrop Klauser. Ferns’ USAC Silver Crown car and one of St. James’ former race cars will be on display.
“We are definitely excited about it because it is a blend activity,” St. James said. “We are going to show a documentary about Betty Skelton. It is a great documentary that has come out on Fox, and we are going to show that. It’s a little bit of a history lesson.
“And then we are going to move right into this panel discussion with some amazing women who are behind the scenes that people don’t know about. We will have Laura Klauser, who is an engineer and represents General Motors in the motorsports industry. She is the go-to person. Beth Paretta has taken a very strong leadership position as a team owner in IndyCar racing with a female forward initiative. We have a young driver, Taylor Ferns, who is from Michigan who I have known for over 10 years and came to my driver development program. Cindy Sisson who has helped produce the documentary and also created this particular symposium.”
St. James’ pro career spanned two decades and included open wheel and sports car experience. She made her Indy 500 debut in 1992, started 27th and finished 11th, which proved to be a career best at the Brickyard. She was 45 in 1992, making her the race’s oldest rookie. Jimmie Johnson, 46, has qualified 12th for Sunday’s 106th running and is slated to break that mark.
St. James said she is pleased with the progress women have made since her retirement.
“There are more women racing and more women aspiring on the lower ranks to get to the upper ranks,” she said. “For the two decades I was racing, drag racing was the exception. Drag racing has had women competing professionally. I clearly believe it’s because they have a junior dragster program, which is open to kids. I have heard over the years that 50 percent of those kids are girls. They had it figured out. The other categories of motorsports, the doors weren’t opening, and your voices were falling on deaf ears.
“But today you have females racing in ARCA aspiring to get to the Cup level, there are handful of really good women racers capable at the IndyCar level and IMSA and sports cars. There are certainly a handful in USAC at that level. There is representation, and not just one. There is a handful. A handful is not enough, but I get it. But a handful is better than one.”
For more information on the symposium, click here to visit the website. A virtual attendance option is available.
“We have a lot of stories and interactive opportunities for people to come and ask questions, learn and understand better what these roles are really about and how they got these jobs,” St. James said. “It’s not just storytelling, it also is meant to be very much a symposium type of thing where people can learn from it.
“I’m here to celebrate as much as I’m here to promote and push. I want us to be a platform and a portal to celebrate the successes and elevate the successes and encourage new people to come in and see what our sport is all about. It will help grow the sport and help the ones already in it. It can’t get much better than that.”
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