St. James, Lyn (1947–)

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St. James, Lyn (1947–)

American race-car driver. Name variations: Evelyn Cornwall. Born Evelyn Cornwall, Mar 13, 1947, in Willoughby, Ohio; dau. of Alfred Cornwall and Maxine (Rawson) Cornwall; m. John Carusso, 1970 (div. 1979); m. Roger Lessman, Feb 1993.

The 1st woman to average more than 200 miles per hour on an oval track, at Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway, was also the 1st woman to win a solo North American professional road race, at Watkins Glen, NY (both 1985); won the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) Florida Regional championship (1976 and 1977); won, along with male teammates, the GTO class of the Daytona 24 Hours marathon (1987 and 1990); finished in 11th place in the Indianapolis 500, becoming the 2nd woman to participate in that race, and won Rookie of the Year honors (1992).

See also Women in World History.

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St. James, Lyn (1947–)

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