Female Racing Driver Breaks Speed Records

Tinkling the ivories or tinkering with an engine, Lyn St. James brings sweet sounds to these endeavors. One now presents a restful diversion, the other has caused friends to label St. James, “Miss Perpetual Motion” for her speed on the race track.

St. James, who holds a piano teacher’s certificate and owns a parts and shock-absorber distributorship in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., shattered several women’s national speed records at the Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Nov. 25-26, when she was clocked at 204.233 m.p.h. for a 2.66 mile lap.

The old record of 191.042 was registered by British driver Desire Wilson during 1982 qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

St. James also established a 10-mile closed course speed record of 192.758 m.p.h. and a 10 kilometer mark of 187.192 in a Ford Probe.

The late Peter Gregg, winner of numerous endurance races at Daytona and Sebring, was St. James’s idol when she was racing as an amateur. She went on to break two of Gregg’s records for those distances--the 175.645 m.p.h. for 10 miles and the 175.911 for 10 kilometers.

“The records are milestones to me,” says the 37-year-old divorcee who has made the biggest splash on the auto racing scene among women since Janet Guthrie’s rides in the Indy 500 during the 1970s. “There’s something in a record that creates a sense of permanency. You can win a race and two weeks later people don’t remember your performance. Having a record adds longevity to your reputation.”

More important, says St. James, records mean significant improvements in miles per hour. They show the sophistication of equipment and the skill of the driver.

“I felt confident approaching the record run,” she says. “I researched the situation. Talked to the Ford people about cars, the Goodyear people about tires, teams about equipment. I discovered Talladega was more suited to stock cars than open wheel cars for record runs.”

Turning pro in 1979, St. James soon dominated the Kelly American Challenge series for women. She was named IMSA Camel GT Rookie of the Year in 1984 after placing third in the New York 500 at Watkins Glen, N.Y., highest finish for a woman in the series. St. James topped that performance this year when she co-drove with John Jones to a two-lap victory in a 500 kilometer race at Elkhart Lake, Wis., the first woman to win a Camel GT event.

“I want to be more than just the fastest woman driver,” says St. James. “I want to be the winner, the one who takes the checkered flag.”

St. James has targeted Indianapolis as a future goal. She has the determination, a business savvy that helps her understand a car owner’s prospective and is extremely marketable as a pretty woman driver with an ability to win races.

Bill Elliott, runner-up to Darrell Waltrip for the NASCAR Grand National championship this year, was St. James’ co-driver at Watkins Glen last summer and deems her a very capable driver.

“The GTO series she’s driving is a good one; I found that out at the Glen,” says Elliott, who was voted the 1985 driver of the year for his 11 NASCAR victores in a Ford Thunderbird. “To win at the Glen takes a capable driver. She’s won twice this year and that tells you a lot about her.”

St. James has advice to women desiring a race career. She advises they attend a driving school, make sure they can afford to get involved with the sport and be patient in their learning years. Few drivers reach the headline bracket at the start of their careers.

“Above all,” she advocates, “don’t do what the car won’t do. Don’t overdrive it at high speeds.”