Ask Patty loves to interview great women doing great things in the
automotive industry and Lyn St. James is no exception! Ask Patty sat
down with Lyn to talk about her career in motorsports and the Lyn St. James Foundation.
ASK PATTY: Tell us a little bit about your career in motor sports.
LSJ: I
was a fan and spectator from my teenage years - first drag racing,
which I tried a few times and actually won some in street cars at a
local drag strip. After moving to FL I went to the 24 Hours of Daytona
and 12 Hours of Sebring and found out about SCCA (Sports Car Club of
America), became a member of the local FL Region, bought a Ford Pinto
and equipped it with a roll bar, 5 point seat belt, fire extinguisher
(all of which was required) and enrolled in SCCA driver's school to get
my competition license. I never looked back after that and have never
wanted to do anything else since.
ASK PATTY: What made you decide to get into motor sports?
LSJ: I
love the sounds, smells, challenge, friendships, work ethic,
creativity, everything about it. Plus it was something I could do well
(at least sometimes), yet never seemed to conquer.
ASK PATTY: What is your favorite part of racing and being behind the wheel?
LSJ: It's
the most physically and mentally demanding activity, yet you cannot
activate your emotions. It requires such a commitment in every way;
it's like you're in another world.
ASK PATTY: What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a woman in the automotive industry?
LSJ: I
think it was my passion for cars and my obvious commitment to being the
best, bringing my best to whatever I did that earned respect from
others, regardless of gender. I never really allowed myself to focus
on the gender difference and focused on the results regardless of the
activity. Whether I was racing cars, test driving cars, attending
business meetings, working with engineers or business executives, doing
car clinics, being a keynote speaker, whatever, my focus has been on
the subject matter and not on gender. A dear friend gave me a piece of
advice a long time ago; "focus on the donut and not on the hole". I
would remind myself of that often, especially when others would try to
change the focus.
ASK PATTY: Tell us about the Lyn St. James Foundation and what it does.
LSJ: After
racing in the Indy 500 I received so much fan mail asking for advice
and I felt I could not just send them an autograph, and without knowing
more about them I wasn't able to really give good advice. So I thought
if I could invite them to a program where I could meet them and
assemble experts in various aspects of racing, then we together could
provide guidance and give others the tools to realize their potential
and dreams in racing. I have been active in the Women's Sports
Foundation since the early 1980's, and was the president from 1990-92,
so I really understood the power in getting people together to make a
difference. So I established the Lyn St. James Foundation in an effort
to make a difference for women in the automotive industry, with a focus
on motorsports since that's where I felt I could make the biggest
difference. In 1994 we created the first Driver Development Program
and have been doing it annually ever since, graduating almost 200 women
racers including some stand outs like Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher,
Erin Crocker, Melanie Troxel, Allison Duncan, Deborah Renshaw, just to
name a few.
ASK PATTY: What exactly is the Driver Development Program and how would someone get involved with it?
LSJ: We accept
resumes throughout the year and I work with all the sanctioning bodies
to try to find the best talent out there that aspire to be successful
in professional racing. I say "I'm looking for the cream of the
crop". So between people contacting us and me reaching out and keeping
track of what's happening we are able to assemble some of the best up
and coming talented racers out there and invite them to our program.
It's usually held in November or December, which is most racers off
season, and it's a 4-day program that focuses on mostly off track areas
that most people don't have much knowledge about, such as physical
fitness, mental preparation, media training, and the business of the
sport. We also include some type of on track program. We include all
forms of motorsports. So just go to my website: www.lynstjames.com for
more information.
ASK PATTY: Do you have to already have driving skills to attend the program?
LSJ: We only accept
racers who have considerable experience and success on their resume.
If someone wants to get started in racing there are so many terrific
driving schools out there, so we steer them in that direction for
beginners. We want experienced racers who aspire to achieve
professional success in racing.
ASK PATTY: What advice would you give a young woman who was interested in getting into motor sports?
LSJ: Seek out
information, which with the internet is so much easier today than ever,
and get involved. Get started. Join a car club, volunteer, attend
special events, just jump in! You'll find your niche!
ASK PATTY: What is the “Women in the Winner’s Circle” charity auction? And what are you auctioning (maybe tell us more about the calendar)?
LSJ: About four
years ago I was really challenged on how to continue to raise funds for
the foundation because I was no longer racing professionally and
generating prize money and sponsorship money (I used to donate a
percentage of both to the foundation). So we created the "Women in the
Winner's Circle" luncheon, which I'm extremely proud to say has been a
resounding success. The theme of the luncheon is to bring together
women racers who have been in the winner's circle in all forms of the
sport, and celebrate their success in front of an audience of movers
and shakers. Since it's also a fundraiser, we added both a silent
auction and this year an ongoing auction on eBay
(www.womeninthewinnerscircle.org), and one of our featured items this
year is our 2007 Women in the Winner's Circle calendar. It features 18
winning women racers from a variety of types of racing, as well as
lists over 140 women racers on their birthdates, along with their
websites. So you can contact these racers and wish them a happy
birthday, and keep track of their progress along the way. We're
selling the calendars for $14.95 and ALL the proceeds go to our
foundation women in racing initiatives thanks to the support from ISC
Publications, New Age, and Independent Printing.
