Female Race Car Drivers

Written by Jan Jaben-Eilon Tuesday, August 17 2010

Race car drivers Lyn St. James and Melanie Troxel are two women who advise others to follow their dreams, as have both of them, despite overwhelming odds.

“I’ve always been a big fan of following your dreams, even if you don’t make it into the big leagues,” says Troxel, who will be 38 this month, and who indeed made it into the big league.

“My advice is to set high goals and dreams,” says Lyn St. James, 63, “then go out and do it. Don’t let others take your dreams away from you.”

St. James drives Indy cars – small but fast cars that sit low to the ground and are considered "open wheel" cars because there are no fenders. Indy car races last for hours and are contested on oval race tracks as well as road courses.

Troxel, a drag racer, pilots nitromethane-burning “funny” cars that travel a quarter mile in right around four seconds and with a finish line speed of plus or minus 300 mph. She was the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) top rookie in 2000.

St. James fulfilled one of her dreams when she drove in an Indy 500 race in 1992 and was named Rookie of the Year. Now she dreams of “seeing more women reach their potential” as race car drivers. “There are many talented women, but it’s a tough sport,” she understates. “I dream that every young female driver who has the passion and skill will also get the opportunity.”

To help fulfill this dream, St. James started her Complete Driver Academy in Indianapolis in 1994. Since then, she’s trained almost 300 drivers from 38 states and five countries.

Girls come to her academy as 13 and 14 year olds. “Nowadays, both boys and girls start racing when they are 5 and 6 year olds,” she says. “It is one of the few sports, like jockeys and equestrians, where men and women compete directly. Race car driving is also very much a family sport. It requires the family to be actively engaged. From that standpoint, it’s a healthy environment.”

St. James didn’t have that kind of family support when she was young. “I grew up in the Midwest in the ’60s,” she says. And her parents had a different path in mind for her. They sent her to a girls’ school from the 7th to 12th grades. She played the piano, and she was groomed for marriage and a job.

She started professional racing when she was in her 20s.

What drove these women into race car driving? “I like to drive fast,” says St. James.

St. James: 'I like to drive fast.'

She started racing as a teen, as did Troxel, who says, “I’m an adrenal junkie and this is the ultimate adrenal rush. I have sky dived, and I grew up on roller coasters. It defies explanation. There are two parts to racing. First, it’s the acceleration, sitting back in the car strapped in, and then, second, at the other end, going 300-plus miles per hour and things are flying by you. It’s hard to fathom. The race is only seconds long, but a driver talks about it as if it’s a long time. It’s a real mental sport. You have four seconds to do everything as close to perfect as possible.”

Shirley Muldowney, known as The First Lady of Drag Racing, broke the gender barrier in that sport. Janet Guthrie, in the 1970s, was the first woman to ever to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and in the Daytona 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race. St. James, who followed in her tracks, now serves as a mentor to younger female race car drivers.

And St. James counsels more mature drivers like Troxel.

“I wasn’t young when I connected to her,” says Troxel of St. James. “She’s a sounding board, and I get inspiration from her when I’m having a down time. She’s someone I can talk to and hear that it’s not just me who has a hard time getting sponsorships.”

Finding sponsorships is a hurdle for any race car driver, but it’s especially difficult for women, says Troxel, who grew up in a racing family, working on cars, and working her way up the ranks.

“People assume that as a female, it’s easier to get a sponsorship, but that’s not true.” Years ago, having a female driver may have been a gimmick for sponsors, but “today most women are struggling to get sponsorships. I’m not racing a full year because there aren’t enough sponsorships.” She is, however, getting some support this year from In-N-Out Burger, though not enough backing to be able to participate in the entire 23-race NHRA schedule.