Decades Make a Difference (Lyn St. James)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Brake Fix's History of Motorsportsseries is brought to you in part
by the International Motor RacingResearch Center, as well as the
Society of Automotive Historians,the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of
Commerce, and the Argettsinger family.
The Gene S. Argettsinger keynote address.
Decades Make a Difference,by Lynn St. James.

(00:22):
We're all on a path to somewhere,and then something comes along that
brings clarity into our life, and oftentakes us in an unexpected direction.
We ask, did we manifest that?
Or did it just happen?
Lynn believes it's likely acombination of things, but she also
believes things don't just happen.
The more difficult the challenge, themore difficult the climb, and the more
important we need to pay attention tothe things that influence our choices.

(00:45):
It's often upon reflection where wecan see and learn how those influences
impacted our lives, and depending onwhat decade we're living in, and what
decade of our life we're reflecting onthose choices, it can help shape our
lives and the lives of those around us.
An important piece of advice, payattention to your influences and how
they impact your decisions and alwaysthink about the bigger picture because
everything we invite to enter our sphereof awareness impacts what we do and

(01:09):
what we do has an impact on others.
This presentation is a recap of howLynn's five decades in motor sports
has taken her down the path of racingaround the world and provided her
with an incredible opportunity to besomeone she never dreamed she could be.
Lynn St. James is the cofounder and president of Women
in Motorsports North America.
She's a legendary race car driver,author, mentor, and motivational speaker.

(01:32):
Named one of the top 100 femaleathletes of the 20th century by
Sports Illustrated, Lynn St. Jameshas set 21 national and international
speed records and was a seven timecompetitor in the world's largest
sporting event, the Indianapolis 500.
earning Rookie of the Year honors in 1992.
She has competed all over the world,including twice at the 24 Hours of Le
Mans in 1989 and 91, with victoriesat the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona,

(01:57):
12 Hours of Sebring, Watkins Glen,Road America, and the Nurburgring.
Most recently, Lynn was announcedas an inductee into the National
Motorsports Press AssociationHall of Fame and has been inducted
into the Automotive Hall of Fame.
The Sebring Hall of Fame, theFlorida Sports Hall of Fame.
She was also the 2022 Amelia IslandConcours honoree and is the recipient
of the prestigious Spirit of FordAward, the Guiding Women in Sports

(02:20):
Award, the Office Depot VisionarySportsman of the Year, and was named
on the automotive news list of the top100 women in the automotive industry.
She is in demand as a speaker on women'sissues, gender equality, and diversity.
She serves on the board of ACUS,the Automobile Competition Committee
of the United States, and on theDiversity and Inclusion Task Force.
She has authored two books, Lynn St.James, An Incredible Journey, and Oh,

(02:44):
By the Way, and is former presidentof the Women's Sports Foundation.
Lynn is passionate about mentoringdrivers in the sport of auto
racing, as well as women in theautomotive and motorsports fields.
Lynn St. James racing careerwas as diverse and noteworthy
as any driver, male or female.
Two time winner, class winner at theDaytona 24 hour, class winner at Sebring,

(03:04):
class winner at the Nürburgring 24 hours,two time competitor at Le Mans, first
woman to run over 200 miles an hour,seven time qualifier for the Indy 500,
including in 1994, she out qualifiedNigel Mansell and Mario Andretti,
pretty impressive, elected into theAutomotive Hall of Fame, the SCCA Hall
of Fame, the Western Stock Car Hallof Fame, and the Sebring Hall of Fame.

(03:27):
She's a member of ACUS, member ofthe FIA Women in Racing Foundation.
She started the Women's Winner'sCircle Foundation in 1994, and
she is a co founder of the Womenin Motorsports North America.
To come back to the Hall of Fame,I did this earlier in the week,
so it's conceivable she's beenelected into several other Hall of
Fames since I, since I did this.

(03:48):
If so, I'm very sorry, Lynn.
My apologies.
And to think it all startedbehind the wheel of a Ford Pinto.
It is my sincere pleasure andwe are honored to have Lynn St.
James here as our keynote speaker.
So please welcome.
Thank you very much.

(04:09):
Very much.
No new halls of fame, please.
But I have to share.
I did just come from Daytona.
John Saunders was there, but Iwas very honored to celebrate my
50th year in motorsports and didso by inviting many of my friends
that were positive contributionsand part of that, those 50 years.
So we had a number of people comeinto the Motorsports Hall of Fame,

(04:30):
which I'm not in that Hall of Fame,but come into the Hall of Fame, and
we had a lovely, lovely evening.
John Doonan, president of IMSA, was thehost, along with Frank Kelleher, who was
the president of Daytona InternationalSpeedway, and they surprised me with
a lot of things, being three cars.
that were part of mywinning history at IMSA.
They had the car from WatkinsGlen that I won here in 1985.

(04:50):
They had the Ford Probe that Iset records with in 1985 as well.
And then they had my first IMSA win wasat a 1985 Ford Mustang at Road America.
So those were On display,which was unbelievable.
And then, one of the things I wantedto do was turn my last laps in anger
in a Ford GT that Kevin Doran had builtfrom the 2007 chassis of the Ford GTs.

(05:13):
And I had raced it in a number of vintageraces, including here at Watkins Glen.
And it is the sweetest racecar that I'd ever driven, and
the most current from that era.
And so I got to turn somelaps in anger during the HSR.
So I'm still on a high from all of that.
And woke up this morningat the Harbor Hotel.
Thank you.
Took pictures of thebeautiful Lake Seneca.

(05:34):
Told everybody, good morningfrom Watkins Glen, New York.
So this is one of my favorite places inthe entire country, if not the world.
I came here in 1966.
to the Formula One race from Ohio,drove over here with a boyfriend and
never got out of the parking lot.
We didn't have tickets, but itwas a case of I've never seen
so many exotic cars in my life.
You know, and all I did was walkaround the parking lot, having him

(05:56):
take pictures of me in the parkinglot would get some Maseratis and
Lamborghinis and things I'd never seen.
And of course, just the soundsalone, it was extraordinary.
So it was cold and windy, butit was one of the little tastes
that you get in motorsports.
So James, where are you?
I am so glad that I have never seena presentation like that because

(06:17):
I just thought about it because Iencourage all of the drivers, male
or female, understand a little bitmore about the history of the sport.
Most race car drivers show up, maleor female, and they think they're
God's gift to the world, right?
That they are the best racecar driver in the world.
And when I heard that presentationjust sitting there, I was like, Oh
my God, that is the first time Ifelt Discriminated against because
I'm not a sporting gentleman.

(06:38):
It just hit me so weird, you know,and I never saw it that way when
I went to the races, but this wasan S. C. C. A. The decade a little
bit decade later in the seventies.
I mean, that's what I loved about itwas the fact that it wasn't like when
you go to a country club or you gosomeplace where there are the halves.
And if you aren't a have that,that means you're a have not.
And in racing, it's like whether youyou're on a gas station or you work

(07:01):
as a plumber, you have your racecar and next to maybe somebody that
has a motorhome and you know, butwe're all the same at the racetrack.
And that's something thatjust absolutely stuck with me.
So I kind of never felt discriminatedagainst or not welcomed or whatever.
So the sport meant something differentto me than it did, I guess, to others.
Decades make a difference.
I've, you know, I've thought about it.
I'm actually really glad,again, that I kind of hit the

(07:23):
sport in the decade of the 70s.
Not the summer jam decade of the 70s.
But I did go to theIndy 500 as a spectator.
Didn't say, oh, I'm going to do this.
These were superstars.
These were superheroes.
These were super people.
They weren't real humans.
And then I went to the 24 Hours ofDaytona for the first time in 1972.

(07:44):
I went, oh my God, realpeople drive race cars.
You get to walk around thepits, you get to walk around the
garages, you get to see people.
They're human beings.
Mark Donio, Joe Rodriguez, MarioAndretti, they were the super guys too.
But at the same time, there wereCorvettes and Camaros and Porsches.
So it just sent me a different message.
And I sat outside of Turn 1 for thewhole 24 hours, while either in the

(08:05):
pits walking around or outside Turn 1.
Watching the glow of the brakes when theywent down and break over into turn one.
I mean, it was just anextraordinary experience.
But at the same time, the decades makea difference, depending on your decade,
when you're watching what's happening.
I realized what a difference it waswhen I saw the Ruth Ginsburg film.
And saw what the 70s was like fromher standpoint going to college.

(08:29):
I didn't go to college.
Becoming a lawyer.
I sat there and I'm like, Idon't remember it that way.
So my point of reference was different.
So this whole decades make a differencehas kind of become a theme that I think
really makes a difference of how youreflect on the world and what's happening.
And I'm really honored to be amongst Welleducated people, this is a symposium.
This isn't just where I getto inspire people, you know.

(08:51):
Usually, I'm an inspirational speakerthat most of the audience know
nothing about racing, and so I havefull command because whenever I tell
them they got to believe, right?
Well, you guys know a lot about racing.
I'm hoping that I can stillreflect on a few different things.
But I'm also a real believerthat timing is everything.
Then things happen, and the timing,and this is what I'm experiencing,

(09:12):
is a woman in racing who neverfelt that I should have been there.
I'm the happiest when I'm at a racetrack.
I have felt that way since1974 when I started racing.
At the same time, I said, Idon't represent all women.
I just, I'm me.
There may be betters.
Hopefully there are betters.
I mean, but at the sametime, I just kept focused.
And then, of course, in the 90s, Idid start to become a little more

(09:33):
proactive, and I'll explain that.
In the 2000s as well, but itdidn't necessarily resonate,
but today it's resonating.
And so it's the same story, the samemessage, but it makes a difference
when you are delivering that message.
And leadership is key.
It's great to be a doer.
I always wanted to do it.
But at the same time,how can you be a leader?
And that's what, it alsomakes a big difference.

(09:54):
Because the influences that wehave also can make a difference.
So for me in the seventies again, Iwasn't paying attention to what Ruth
Ginsburg was going through and others,but there was this thing called the
Virginia Slims Tennis Tournament.
And because in 1973 I, like someof you are old enough, probably
remember watching Billie Jean King.
beat Bobby Riggs on television and I was atennis player, not a great tennis player.

(10:17):
So I went out, I didn't smoke, butI bought two packs of cigarettes and
took the tails off the bottom andput my 5 in and I still have that
sweatshirt because I thought, youknow, there's something going on here.
It's relating to me.
If she can do that on televisionin front of billions of people, I
think I can try to get in a race car.
So what if it's all guys racing out there?

(10:38):
I think I can do that.
So the things that influenceus really make a difference.
And that, again, when, with aninfluence issue, and it was after
I'd seen the 24 Hours of Daytona,so I see real people do this.
She did this on television.
Get out of your way, Lynn, and godo this if you could figure it out.
So, how I found out.
SCCA started a new classcalled showroom stock.

(10:58):
She went out and bought a car.
There were about 2 or 3 cars eligible.
The Pinto was the cheapest.
I went out and ordered a Pinto atmy local Ford dealer, put a roll
bar in it, a 5 point seat belt, a5 pound fire extinguisher, which
was required for all Pintos, I meanall race cars, not just Pintos.
Boy, I blew that one.
All race cars, not just Pintos.

(11:18):
And, that car is how I started.
I say, this is how I foundracing and racing found me.
I mean, literally when I wentto school, my first driver
instructor wouldn't talk to me.
It was like I was invisible.
I wasn't there with this other threeor four students and I was complaining
and my husband said, well, why don'tyou just go to the chief instructor
and ask for a different instructor?

(11:39):
That's a good idea, so I did,and I got Joe Castellato, who
was unbelievable, he's Italian.
He rode with me, I rode with him,drawing the racetrack on the sand
and, you know, giving me about apexes.
I mean, it was unbelievablehow much I learned in that.
I was hooked.
I was in.
My very first race, the X's on theside of the car to let everybody
know that this was a rookie.
Stay away from them because theydon't know what they're doing.

(12:01):
They have past instructeddoing really well.
I thought for a while, and then asI'm going into turn two, they put
a bunch of cars, different groupsout at the same time, the overall
leader came around to pass me.
And I was not watching mymirrors, lost control of the car.
I spun out and I ended in, I thought itwas the pond because in South Florida,
Palm beach, international raceway.
If you've all been there, it's watersall over and the car hit the water.

(12:24):
I opened the door and got out, hustledto the side, stood there, turned around,
and watched my car go, blub, blub.
It was like in quicksandand totally submerged.
It was gone.
And I remember standing there going, ifI could just beam myself out like Scotty,
you know, from the TV or the movie.
The evidence was gone, andmaybe this didn't really happen.

(12:45):
So it was a really embarrassing way.
I remember the entertainment of theevening was to go down and watch the
divers pull the car out and Everybody'sstanding there with their shorts
and t shirt on and I was as welldrinking a beer and the guy standing
me says, So who's driving that car?
And I said, I don't know.
Did not put my name on the car becausethis was my street car that I drove
back and forth to work as well.

(13:05):
But I also rememberthinking, wow, my dream.
I'm gonna become a race car driver.
Oh, baby.
I'm not meant to be.
To be a race car driver.
It was incredibly embarrassing.
And I remember a telling my husband.
I do not want to be that womandriver out there because that's
what everybody would talk about.
If a woman driver screwsup, it's a woman driver.
She doesn't belong on the track.
If a guy screws up, he's a wanker.
You know, I mean, it's likeit's okay, just a wanker.

(13:27):
And I just said, I'm not gonna do that.
I'm not validating that terribleimage of being the woman driver.
And he said, Lynn, two things.
How bad you want it and howare you willing to work?
And that's been my mantra ever since.
So the 70s for me was, I found my passion,and then I think when you're blessed to do
that, I don't know if any of you actuallyrace, I do know you know the sport of
it, but when you get behind the wheelof a race car, I mean, it's a hybrid.

(13:50):
It takes people.
To help you to put a car on a racetrack,but then that point is you strap yourself
in and now you're all by yourself.
You can't, hey, ask a question.
You know, we didn't have radiosand things like that back then,
particularly when you're learning.
You're on your own, and so you haveto really become this confidence
and you have to believe in yourself.
You have to know you can do this.

(14:11):
And once you really believethat, you carry that with you
when you get out of the car.
I mean, it transformedme as a person as well.
You know, the whole 70s was justthis incredible learning process.
Which, of course, I'venow learned never stops.
The 80s.
Okay.
I think I'm getting important.
I think I'm really going to become aprofessional race car driver because

(14:33):
I can't afford to be able to racethe way I want to race and win races.
And so, you know,reality starts to set in.
And it's one thing to have a commitment,a goal, but I actually learned this
from the motivational speaker who'son TV all the time, whose name I can't
remember right now, it doesn't matter,was that you have to make a declaration.
If you declare something, that'sdifferent than an intention, different

(14:55):
than a goal, it's different than awish, it's different than a dream.
A declaration is you're going to do it.
You are declaring it.
And so I made this declaration I was goingto be a professional race car driver.
That's great.
But that means how areyou going to do that?
And so in 1978, there was anarticle in Car and Driver magazine
entitled Ford and Feminism.
1978. They were a bit ahead of their time.

(15:17):
And it was just a sidebar.
And it talked about Ford wanting toprovide equal employment opportunities
for women in non traditional areas.
Jim Olson was one of thepeople that quoted, I remember.
I thought, hey, I win on Sunday.
I'm going to demonstrateFord's commitment.
I need to be in a Ford.
That way I'm telling, I'mtelling everybody that Ford
is really backing that.
Well, I wrote him letters, and I wrotehim a lot of letters, and I got a lot

(15:39):
of, We're not into racing, very nice,but keep us informed of your progress.
I bugged the heck out of him.
I wrote him every time I racedanywhere, any article that was ever
done, I just continued to pursue it.
In 1981, I got Ford as a sponsor.
It was not their idea.
I'm convinced they said we haveto do something and so we'll just
hire her because she won't go away.
Persistence helps.

(16:00):
And then that's when I got Ford asa sponsor and I became a factory
driver for Ford Motor Company.
It gave me credibility with the media.
It gave me credibility withanybody in the industry.
And yes, it was tofulfill their commitment.
I spent the whole decade of the80s racing different cars for Ford,
setting records, winning here.
I mean, it was unbelievable.
So then towards the end of the 80s,I was Also getting a little older.

(16:24):
If you do the math, I was like,okay, I want to drive an IndyCar.
I just want to drive an IndyCar.
It is like, to me, the ultimate race car.
I actually worked as a pitreporter for ESPN so that I
could learn more about the cars.
Because I could talk to the crew chiefs.
I could talk to the team managers.
I talked to people about, tellme about the car so that I
could talk about it online.

(16:44):
Well, I got a lot more informationthan I needed that I was going
to be able to talk about online.
I started to learn a lot about the carsbecause it gave me an inside track.
And then I started talking to team owners.
They were doing a test day.
I'd love to drive an IndyCar.
Long story short, I got a chance.
Dick Simon finally, I think again, saidthis woman keeps coming at me talking
about wanting to drive an IndyCar.
And he called me on a Monday after theTamiami race, the last race of the season.

(17:07):
Hey kid, you want to drive an IndyCar?
Be at Memphis tomorrow.
That's the way Dick talks.
I was on the plane, went to Memphis.
Didn't even know there was aracetrack in Memphis, but that's
where I used to do a lot of testing.
He was doing a rookietest for another driver.
He pulled out Raul Bozell's.
Car, I got to turn laps in an Indycar, this track in Memphis, which is a
drag strip with a little return route.

(17:28):
And talk about things are supposed tohappen when they're supposed to happen.
This kid, they're all kids to me, thiskid had to work on that car that day.
If I hadn't shown up, he wouldhave had the day off, because
the car was on the trailer.
Now, I figured he's probablyreally happy to see me.
And he's trying to fit me in thecar and we're literally putting
jackets and anything because I wasn'table to pour a seat or anything.

(17:51):
And then he looks at me at one point andhe goes, Were you ever at Snedderton?
Which is a racetrack in England.
I said, Yeah, I was there one day.
This was in 1988.
So I was at Snedderton in 1984, fouryears prior to that, testing a Ford
Argo GTP car that I ended up running.
He said, I was there that day.
He said, you ran good.

(18:12):
I had a crew guy that day.
I had somebody who wanted me to do well.
You know what I mean?
Who was glad that he wasable to work that day.
Changed the whole thing.
I end up driving an IndyCar that day.
At the end of the day, I did fairly well.
Dick, he left actually, then he came back.
And at the end of the day, hesaid to me, we can do this.
He didn't say you can do this.
He said we can do this.
And that meant, ah, I have an IndyCarteam owner who's willing to do this.

(18:38):
So it only took us four years, 150companies that said no in sponsorship
searches, and JCPenney was the151st company that I went after in
sponsorship, which I got in 1992.
So the 80s and the 90swere creating partnerships.
Ford Motor Company, whobrought in Motorcraft.
That's good at Watkins Glen, that's whatI want at Watkins Glen here in 1985.

(19:02):
And then, J. C. Penney camealong, and when they came along
in 1992, they brought in Nike.
One of the sweetest things was I foundout that Phil Knight said, there will
never be a Nike swoosh on a race car,because race car drivers are not athletes.
Guess what?
There was a swoosh out of my car at Nikebecause it was a JCPenney sponsorship

(19:23):
and Nike came along with the package.
You know, sometimes there's alittle um that you get when you
get to do something besides whatyou're trying to get out of it.
But creating partnerships,relationships are everything.
But you have to get results.
It isn't about just beingintentional, making declarations,
you have to get results.
So obviously the victories that I'vehad, and then being at Indy in 1992.

(19:46):
Winning Rookie of the Year.
They had eight rookies that year.
The last thing in the world I figuredthat I was going to be selected
or earn Rookie of the Year, but Iwas the highest finishing rookie.
Another record that I held,talking about results that
sometimes you inherit, I guess.
Is that I held the record until twoyears ago being the oldest rookie in
the history of the Indianapolis 500.

(20:07):
796 drivers had raced inthe area at that time.
And the first time you race it into yourrookie, no matter what your background
is, none of them had been 45 yearsold until Jimmy Johnson two years ago.
Not seven time NASCAR champion beats 76.
So results count.
Teamwork, the value of teamwork.
I told the story about the crew guyfrom, that had been at Snedderton.

(20:30):
So many of these people, youknow, they're not just the team,
but they're there with you.
They want it for you.
They care about you.
You learn their names.
You learn what they eat for lunch.
You learn what they want fordinner, how much sleep they need.
Some of them do, some of them don't.
But you become, not just afamily, but it's about teamwork.
And then the team expands beyond justhaving the people that work on your car.

(20:52):
And it never ends because, and that'swhy it's so much about relationships.
I was on this mission, very personalmission, of just wanting to win races,
beat Scott Pruitt, beat Tom Gloy.
Then I started realizing,this is bigger than me.
One of the people that helped merealize it was Billie Jean King.
I got to meet my shero.
I got to go to the Women's SportsFoundation that she founded, that she

(21:15):
puts dinner on every year, and I got tomeet her and all of these other Olympic
athletes and accomplished athletes.
And if you've been in the room orin the presence of Billie Jean King
for, Five minutes, and you don'twalk away knowing that it's your
responsibility to change the world.
This is the point, becauseshe pounds on the table.
While you are competing,you are the most powerful.

(21:36):
It's not about you, it'sabout the future generation.
I'm like, what do youmean it's not about me?
If I don't win, nobody gives a shit.
You know, I mean, it'slike, it's about me.
But no, I mean, she reallyjust gets you to get it.
I kind of was processing that alot in the 80s, that it wasn't
until I had the platform of Indie.
When I got all this fan mail andpeople wanting advice, and I'm like,
I just can't send them an autograph.

(21:57):
So that's when the common and when thingshappen to you, the decades of how old
you are, I'm now in my 40s, probablya little more of a mother mentality
than 20s and 30s kick ass take names.
And so, you know, I'm startingto care more than about me, and
I realize it's not just about me.
And that whole that, and you know, on topof that, it gave me a new sense of power.

(22:17):
It's tiring when all youdo is care about yourself.
And, and you have to be self centered.
I had to learn, I created a newword with my coach called selfing.
How you help yourself, but help others.
So it's selfing.
It was a really powerful word for me.
So, values of teamwork weregetting me where I was going to go.
Communication, obviously gettingresults, but then communicating

(22:38):
them, and they're hard.
They're easier today because they'reeverywhere, but they're harder because
you harder to manage, you know, you got tomake sure you manage your communication.
So setting the records at Talladega,Ford talking about safety and using
motorsports as a message for safety.
And then to celebrate with your partners.
Told you I just came from Daytona.
All of these people that camethat I invited, not everybody

(23:00):
that I, that I invited and JohnDoonan invited were able to come.
But I wanted to give them something.
I found out the importance of these littlecoins that you have made, the, the, uh,
and I had a coin made celebrating my 50thyear, but then I put a note in there.
Because I realized without thosepeople, without the people that
were in that room and got invitedwho will get theirs in the mail.
I wouldn't have made it.

(23:20):
I wouldn't have beenable to do what I did.
You know, you've got to tellpeople what you're going to do.
You've got to go do it.
But you've got to tell them thatyou did it, because just because
you told them you were doesn'tmean they're paying attention,
or that they really give a hoot.
So then you've got to tell them you didit, and then you've got to thank them.
I mean, I was known during the 80s whenI had sponsors, I would always at the
end of the year send a thank you gift.

(23:40):
And then sometimes, I mean, I didn'tknow what they did with it, and I
didn't care, but I wanted them to know.
What this season representedand how they made a difference.
And so you've got to really sell it.
You're in a hall of fame,that isn't about you.
You're just being recognized for allthe people that made you, enabled you
to be able to do what you're doing.
So one of my tips to, when I ammentoring, just always be authentic.

(24:02):
Don't try to be something that you're not.
Don't try to be what somebody else is.
Yes, I'm old.
I did try to pay thePR guy at Indy in 1992.
I actually had 500 in my pocket.
So will you quit puttingmy age next to my name?
Because I didn't want to drawattention to it, you know, and he
said it doesn't work that way, Lynn.
So my age is my age, you canlook it up, but I'm a mother.
Yes, I took piano lessons for 13 years,taught piano for 6 weeks and got fired.

(24:26):
It's good to know, it's good toknow what you're not good at.
I'm a race car driver, I try to be aspeaker, I've tried to represent the
sport well, but just be authentic.
I don't feel dressed unless Iwear fingernail polish, and I've
had some people literally fancyme when I'm not at the track.
You can't be a race car driver.
You've got fingernail polish on.
I'm like, get over it, you know?

(24:46):
So, you've just got to be who you are.
And then, the leadership comes in.
That Billie Jean King moment by Shiro,she was the honorary starter on qualifying
day at Indy, and the year we had fourwomen going to qualify at the Indy 500.
So I was like, Billy, I did my work!
Here they are!
There's Danica, there'sSarah, and she was a hoot.

(25:08):
She was the honorary starter, soshe waved the flag to start the day.
And you don't do that up in the starterstand, you do it literally on pit lane.
And so she's down there, andshe's got the, she's got the flag.
And she thinks she's adeterbing servant, right?
I mean, she's got that crouch.
And she's waving theflag and the cars go by.
And she's waving theflag and the cars go by.
She's only supposed to wave the flag whenthe cars go by once, you know what I mean?

(25:31):
I said, Billy, they're done.
It's okay, because theywant to go fast now.
You know, they were just warming it up.
She absolutely loved it.
They said most of the time, honorarystarters jump back because they just
hear the cars and they see them go byand, you know, they couldn't get away.
So she was fabulous.
So I saw the quote, Never doubt thata small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens Can change the world.
It's the only thing thatever has made me think.

(25:53):
Actually, as I read this, I'm GeneArkansinger, who started the IMRRC.
It's not about you, but it's aboutgetting a community together.
So that has led me toalso look at the future.
But then I decided, Ooh, Ineed to look at the past.
I read a book called the Bugatti Queen,and there was so much in there, not
just about her, not about just aboutHoly Deeds, but about other women.

(26:17):
This was a time when there were alot of gentlemen racers, but these
gals were out there kicking butt.
So I did end up talking to theHenry Ford Museum about this book.
And this was about, I don't know, 2000something that I was chatting with them.
He said, oh, you ought todo a traveling exhibit.
I said, I don't know how to do that.
These are one of the partnersbecause I was helping them design
their Driven to Win exhibit.

(26:38):
They said we'll help you.
So I ended up creating a travelingexhibit, which is now retired, but
on the history of women in racing.
This is just a big banner thatwas on display starting from
Camille de Gaeste that took usthrough the early 1900s up to 1933.
You mentioned Louis Chiron, thedriver that was in the Bugatti.

(26:59):
It's because of him that Helene Niceended up, this is just my summation
of the information, she ended up dyingin destitute because he accused her.
of being a spy because she washaving affairs with some generals,
giving trade secrets and stufflike that, and she was ostracized.
Ended up, you know, living actually,I think to like her 80s, but ended up,

(27:21):
you know, living on nothing, you know,and it was just because he basically
ruined her entire reputation and career,which was just Anyway, so the history
to me was like, I knew about JanetGuthrie, I knew about Shirley Mildowney,
you know, when I started racing.
That was about it, and I didn'tlearn all this until I was already
out of the seat professionally.
But it was so inspiring for me and soimportant for me to be able to share

(27:45):
the fact that there were very successfulwomen that were going very, very fast
and doing these great things at a timewhen it just wasn't known and considered.
Another era from the 2000sto the 2010s of here we are.
So, I mean, again, it's notjust Shirley Muldowney or just
Sarah Fisher or Danica Patrick.
I mean, it's kind of like There aredecades here, this is just like, you

(28:07):
know, capturing moments, periods, themodern era from 1980 to the 2000s of
just capturing Desiree Wilson, who wonan Aurora Series Formula One race, a
year old Formula One cars at BrandsHatch, Michelle Mouton, who won Pikes
Peak, and who went on to then show herleadership, and she was the founder and
the creator, the FIA, Women in MotorsportsCommission, and led it for over 10 years.

(28:32):
But then Robin McCall, maybe they didn'thit the headlines, she didn't beat Richard
Petty or whatever, but it's just hardbecause we want to be known as winners and
competitors and get that at the same time.
If you're out there and you arecompetitive, if you were running in
the top five or the top ten, theywere just lost, we call it left
behind, you know, that they weren'talways given the recognition at the

(28:55):
time they were actually competing.
Kara Hendrick.
Who was a contemporary of Jeff Gordon,who ended up dying in a Sprint car
midget, setting a track record, leadingthe race, and was absolutely considered
an equal to Jeff Gordon at that timein beating him, and Jeff Gordon would
admit, has said that, I mean, hejust She was tough and she was good.
And I used to talk all the time andI can say, I'll try to help you all

(29:17):
I can, but I'm still trying to figuremine out, you know, and I still would
do as much as I can to introduceher to people in this whole era.
There were just so manyracers and then the future.
I really wanted to send the message thatyes, we had a history, another Billie Jean
quote, if you don't know your history.
I really wanted the people thatsaw this exhibit to know that

(29:40):
there was a future out there.
When I first saw this, to share thiswith you, I thought, oh wow, that's cool.
I remember all those gals.
And then I went, oh dear,are any of them still racing?
And I got very sad.
There weren't many, but there were ten.
So 10 of those are continuing to raceand still accomplishing something.
But at first, when I read it, I was like,Oh my God, that's not a very good story.

(30:03):
If you can't say that this exhibitlaunched at the Toronto International
Speedway in 2014 ran for five years.
And then eventually the panelsgot kind of beat up from up and
down, you know, and all that.
And then it went away.
So these were young drivers thatwere all over the country racing
in different forms of racing.
And the race car drivers, one of thethings I try to explain to people, we're

(30:26):
the ambassadors, we're the messengers.
We're the people, we, meaning male,female, yeah, the stars, we're the people
that the media write about, that probablymost of the research people refer to.
We are the messengers.
Well, there aren't enough women tobe, as race car drivers, to show
the depth of what the talent poolthat has been and is out there.

(30:47):
But what is really different now, whichI'm loving, Is the fact that we now
have women engineers, we have womenmechanics, you know, we have women that
are in all different, they've alwaysbeen there, they've always been grid
marshals or marketing people, but it'sa little bit more behind the scenes.
So we're now seeing more and more womenin different areas, which led myself

(31:07):
and Beth Perretta, I don't know if youremember in 2000, when she had the female
forward team at the Indy 500, I readabout it, knew about it, excited about it.
And at the Indy 500 that year,I walked down Pit Lane, which
is what I do every year to wishpeople that are still there that I
remember and all that the good luck.
And I walked down and I come upon herteam and Simona, who I know is her

(31:31):
driver, Beth, who I do a little bit.
So, you know, okay, great.
We had a woman driver and a womanowner and I turned and here's
like eight gals all in their racesuits ready to go over the wall.
The six of them are goingto go over the wall.
I'm like that female presence, tears cameto my eyes and I had a moment because I
said I never knew I never felt alone, butI never knew how alone I was because I

(31:55):
generally I was the only woman in a racesuit ready to go to work essentially in
the race and I turned to Beth with thosetears in my eyes and we hugged each other
and I said, I had no idea how alone I was.
I did.
I just never felt that way.
Now I realize I probably was.
She said, this is for all of us.
And I mean, that was all she couldget out at that moment because she

(32:15):
was probably preoccupied gettingready to go lead the team for the N
500 when they did finish, actually.
With that, and it was right after, it wasduring COVID and, you know, COVID had hit.
And so we started having these Zoom callswith other people that we knew that we
thought were like minded, men and women.
We ended up having 40people on our list combined.
We would meet every month and havea Zoom call and just talk about it.

(32:38):
What can we do?
What are you doing?
What do you see?
Just brainstorming.
And out of the result of that, youknow, we got a lot going on here.
There's a lot of meat here.
We created women in motorsports, North America.
We now have a board.
We're two and a half years old.
This year will be fourth annual summit.
We actually had a summit beforewe existed, because we just got an

(32:59):
opportunity to pull some people together,and we had a great summit in Nashville at
a Honky Tonk bar before the IndyCar race.
And we had over 100 people there,and then we went on to Charlotte,
and we were at Phoenix last year, andwe'll be in Indianapolis this year.
We'll have over 500 men andwomen gathered for two days to
talk about the opportunities,the challenges, the successes.
How do we get over the failures?

(33:20):
All of the discussions.
Crisis communication.
What do you do when the shit hits the fan?
All these different topics that arerelevant to your career and to the sport.
See, we're a community to advanceopportunities, to celebrate
the ones that are there.
And because it's a community doing it.
It's so cool, because it's not justLynn trying to hammer everybody to, you

(33:42):
know, come on, you got to do something.
But because so many people are doingthings, we've got Shift Up Now,
who's helping with the women drivers.
We've got Accelerate Her, that'shelping in young NASCAR drivers.
We've got Jostens, who's supportingour, guess who came up with this name?
The SheRo Award.
We all have our heroes, but weneed our SheRo's, and those are the

(34:03):
people that work above and beyond.
We want people to get a little trophythat says you've done a great job.
You know, we can't all get a promotioncause there's not as many layers.
Sometimes in motorsports, you havefive different job titles, right?
Cause you work at motorsportsand you can't always get a bonus.
But what about a nice trophythat says you've worked hard?
We really appreciatehow hard you've worked.
So.
You know, we've just got differentalliances with different racetracks.

(34:25):
If everybody does something thatfeels right for them, all ships rise.
We're only a little over two years old.
We've got a great executivedirector, Cindy Sisson, who's got
10 times more energy than I do.
And it's just been great ideas.
The community is working.
And so it's really this evolution.
This is our summit, ourWomen's Civic Drive.

(34:45):
Men and women, 20 percent atleast of our attendees are men.
So this is not just us versus them.
It's not, we're living in that mantra,but there will always be that by the way.
I remember working with RaulSanchez in the development of the
Miami Grand Prix downtown Miami.
I mean, when you're trying to dosomething different, there's those,
no way that's going to happen.

(35:06):
And there are those, comeon, you know, come with us.
We'll replant that tree.
Sometimes it's that kind ofstuff that gets in the way.
So this is our Women With Drive Summit.
And if you do all that, you createa new future with horsepower.

(35:30):
Lynn, that was really great.
Thank you so much.
I have a question.
I'd like to take you back to the 80s.
I'm just curious as to what itwas like to drive for Jack Roush.
Oh, this is a story.
I met Jack before he got Ford asthis big sponsor and I knew he was a
racer and I knew he loved his enginesand I'm like, man, this is going to

(35:52):
be such a great team to work with.
And I was so excited.
It didn't work out that way.
I raced for Jack Roush,83 off and on to 91.
I mean, I'm not going to go intoone year I was somebody else and
all that, but most of those years.
Had most of my success, actually.
My wins.
But it was in spite of Jack.
So Jack, he was the toughest,meanest, treated drivers, but

(36:14):
me in particular, unfairly.
And so, I had to find a wayto try to be successful.
I felt in spite of.
So, if you read my book, whichis called An Incredible Journey,
I remember the publisher saying,Do you really want to say this?
I'm like, hey, it's the truth.
And so, I was not a fan of Jack Roush,even though I admired his passion, but
we just never could get on the same page.

(36:36):
I actually hired a basketballcoach, the only coach I could find.
And I say this, and I honestly say this,that if I hadn't had that basketball
coach, you wouldn't be hearingfrom me, because I'd be in prison.
I would have killed the guy.
I was, I was that, I'mserious, I was that angry.
I mean, Leo Mill has the story whereI actually, because Jack's a short
guy, I actually had him by the collarwith his feet going like this, because

(36:56):
he wouldn't give me qualifying tires.
And so, you know, I just hada really, really tough time.
So, as I was preparing for my 50th, Ireally took a lot of time to reflect, and
I said, I can honestly say, and I willprobably get the guts, maybe, because he's
still alive at some point, I might saythis to his face, I have to thank Jack

(37:16):
Roush, because he made it so tough on me.
That it made me work harder,dig deeper, want it more.
That prepared me for the sustainingcareer and to stay in it long
enough that I got to do Indy.
And I got to go a wholefrickin decade at Indy.
From 1992 to 2000.
And I mean even, and I got to workwith a team owner who was a dream.

(37:37):
This guy believed in his drivers.
He gave every driver everything he couldpossibly have to make this so successful.
I had a completely It'sa 180 degree experience.
I wouldn't have had thatif I let Jack defeat me.
I mean, at one point, when Jackwouldn't let me in the car at 24
hours at Daytona, at 2 o'clock in themorning, I called my friend Don Courtney
in Miami and I said, I've had it.

(37:58):
I'm done.
I am calling a, I'mcalling a press conference.
I'm going to, this is in 1987.
I'm going to retire from racing.
I'm going to retire from racing.
I am angry.
This man is, I just can't do it.
I can't deal with it.
And he goes, Lynn, areyou going to let somebody.
Take and rob your passion.
Not only that, it's 2o'clock in the morning.
And nobody cares.

(38:19):
Nobody's gonna show up.
Get some sleep.
Come in the first thing inthe morning and get fixed.
And I did.
I ended up calling Lee Morrisfrom Ford Motor Company.
And I said, I'll meetyou at the track at 7.
If I don't get 4 hours in this car,I will not get credit for this race.
The 24 Hours of Daytona is thevery first race of the season.
You're paying for the whole season?
You can't let this happen.

(38:39):
We had a meeting in Pitts.
I got four hours in.
Twelve hours from when I was going toretire from racing and call you a press
conference, I was on victory podium.
That was my first win atthe 24 Hours of Daytona.
So, I mean, so Jack challengedevery fiber of my body and brain

(39:01):
and I have to thank him now.
It took me literally until reflecting toget ready to realize how many people I
want to thank for being in this sport.
I have to thank him.
So, so was Dick Simon the best?
Oh my god, he was the best.
Okay.
Not just for me, but if you talk to Raul,you talk to, um, Ari Lyondon, you talk

(39:22):
to any driver that's ever raced for Dick.
He gave you everything, he, hedidn't have everything to give you,
but everything he had he gave you.
You know, he didn't have the big money,the sponsors that a lot of the others had.
I mean, he's dope for puttingtwo primary sponsors on the car.
He puts one of them on the outside ofthe car and the other on the inside.
Because at Indy He has all ofhis sponsors from that company
sitting outside the track, all theones that are inside the track.

(39:44):
They all think they're the only sponsor.
I mean, the guy creates it all.
But he works with everything he can, yes.
Dick was the absolute best team.
That's great.
We have questions, I'm sure.
With the success of WNBA, Billie JeanKing is like a hero of mine as well.
Oh my gosh.
Has there been discussion or avision of just a women's only
NASCAR level race taking placewhere it's just women drivers?

(40:07):
I know that Chris is going to talk alittle bit about it and probably know
about the W Series and now the F1 Academy.
But first of all, we have a blessing,wonderful story to tell an opportunity.
We, meaning motorsports, Not theonly, but one of the very few.
Equestrian is the other,and sailing is the other.
Where women and mencompete at an equal level.
And that, to me, represents society.

(40:29):
If we can actually get to the pinnacle,we don't have to just be the CEO of
Google, or the CEO of General Motors.
I mean, I know Mary Barra,and I respect her greatly.
But, if you're smart enough, and you hangin there long enough, you can become the
CEO of a company, right, if a female.
We have lots of demonstrations of that.
But if we could accomplish that inmotorsports, we are going to send a
very powerful message about our sport.

(40:50):
And I am determined thatthat's going to happen.
But it isn't going to behappening by separating women.
Because then the whole story changes.
The whole opportunity changes.
It can't be a division and then conquer.
It's united and conquer.
But the sanctioning bodies, theracetracks, the OEMs, the tire companies,
the stakeholders in the sport needto Wake up and invest so that they

(41:12):
can support, have a proper laddersystem, have a proper way of these
gals getting enough opportunities tobe able to be as good as they could be
at 18 like the kids, you know, the guysand then putting them in the proper
team have teams who really wanted.
We've got a ways to go.
But that's where the effortneeds to be made, not creating
a whole women's only thing.

(41:32):
Lynn, we've got onefrom the internet here.
It's actually a great clarifying questionto what you were just talking about.
Terry Johnson writes, Your opinionon the former W Series that was
dominated by Jamie Chadwick,and should that be revived?
I happened to be there the yearthat they did the selection
process for the W Series.
So, you know, that was a bit ofa hiccup for a lot of us women
drivers, because a lot of peoplewant to know what we thought.

(41:54):
And, you know, there were days That Ithought, oh, this is really terrible
because it's what I just answered,you know, it's going to separate it.
And then the other day, I was like, yeah,but it's an opportunity to put somebody
in a race car, in a really good race car.
So then when I went and actuallygot to, they had over 50
drivers try out for that series.
And I went to Austria and waspart of the selection process.
And then when I saw how the serieswas launched and what they provided.

(42:18):
I mean, they provided physicaltrainers, they provided coaches,
they provided engineering support.
So it gave not only a chance to just racein a race car, but they were A, proper
race cars, and B, they learned all ofthe resources you really need to have
to be a professional race car driver.
So it was actually a very greatexperience that got out of hand

(42:39):
from a business standpoint.
It doesn't need to be resurrected becausethe F1 Academy is kind of replacing it.
And Susie, I know Susie, it used tobe Susie Stoddard, now Susie Wolf, you
know, she's really going to run it asa business and try to make that work.
So I think it's serving a purpose.
Wouldn't be bad if we had somethingover here maybe, but I'm not sure
what category and I don't want, Ihaven't figured that out yet, so.

(43:00):
We don't need to replace it, or revive it.
It's got its own place.
One thing you did not have todeal with was the social media.
And the cruelty that can come the wayof drivers and be a severe distraction.
So I'm just wondering, how would youadvise young women now to put that out of
their heads when it's right in their face?

(43:21):
You're so right.
I'm so glad I didn't have todeal with it in my career.
It's part of the business now,so you have to understand it.
I go back to my being authentic.
Don't try to be to besomething you're not.
Most of the top drivers have other peoplethat manage their social media, which to a
certain degree is probably not a bad idea.
As long as you've got An authenticrelationship with whoever's doing that.

(43:43):
And then I think the other fearful thatI have is because so many of the drivers
are young, because our sport wants young.
I worry about the safety of them.
I mean, I had a stalkerthat ended up incarcerated.
I mean, it's frightening.
And that was beforesocial media, you know.
So, when you have access like that, Iadvise them to have layers of protection,

(44:03):
whether it's parents or some other, butfind layers of separation and protection.
And my bottom line is, ignore it.
Do not respond to the crap.
Don't let it affect you.
I didn't know like till I sawWillie T's movie, Uppity, that I
didn't know he had death threats.
Depending on how serious it can get,again, I had a sucker, but just ignore it.

(44:23):
Once you feed it.
By responding and or let it impacthow you think about yourself.
If they're really a race car driver tome and they've got their butt in the
car and they believe in themselves asstrongly as they need to, then they
shouldn't let anything penetrate that.
You know, and, and so I hopethey have good family or good.
They all have coaches andtrainers and managers.
I hope the people they surround themcontinues to instill the self-confidence

(44:47):
so that they can deflect all ofthat and not let it affect them.
Vicente from Spain asks, what has beenthe best racing car you have ever driven?
Oh, that's a toughie tosay that I've ever driven.
Obviously this Ford GT was the best.
I mean, it had sequential power steering.
I could do 1, or 5 on the amountof power steering I wanted.

(45:08):
I never had power steering, you know.
It was like, it's the firstrace car I didn't have to
wrestle around the racetrack.
So, you know, I'd have to saythat Ford GT was the sweetest
sports car that I've driven.
I also got to drive this.
1976 Chevron B39 Formula Atlantic car thatI thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
I mean, it was the same car.
Fast little, you know, so I'vehad so many wonderful race cars.

(45:29):
I could not just pick one sports car.
There's the Indy carsThere's the prototype cars.
I mean, there's just so many differentcategories that I can't just pick one
out of all of that That's like try topick your favorite child or something.
You can't do that.
How about the mostdiabolical car you ever?
Oh, yeah, it was the KellyAmerican Challenge Mustang.
Oh, it was awful.
It was so funny I had to make apresentation in Sacramento at the auto

(45:53):
museum there, and they were so excited.
This owner has one of your old cars,and we brought it, it's on display.
It was like this big surprise.
They kept it under wraps.
And they opened it, and I'mlike, oh my god, I hate that car.
And I couldn't react.
I mean, I had, oh, hownice, you know, inside.
I'm like, ugh.
And I went up, looked at it, andthe guy was vintage racing it.

(46:13):
And I said, so how's it going?
You know.
Oh, it's pretty good.
And then he made a lotof changes and all that.
So that was.
It was my Kelly concert in 1982.
I was originally going to ask you aboutyour thoughts on the women's series,
but obviously F1 Academy has kind ofbeen the next step, I think, beyond
that for a lot of young female drivers.
Do you think that in theforeseeable future we may see a

(46:34):
woman seated back in an F1 car?
I hope so.
I can't predict that itwill happen out of this.
I wish I could.
Because it's as much political as,and also my sense of my experience
and my sense of observing.
I'm a very good observer.
There's still a very strong anti.
Attitude over there.
There's anti american for onething and then there's it's
just not as likely to happen.

(46:54):
I but I would hope so Imean the car Yeah, it is.
Well, it's it's just this elitist.
I'm gonna get myself in trouble here,but i'm authentic I am not a huge
formula one fan a race fan of formulaone Because I love racing but i'm not
a fan of their elitist attitude abouteverything You know, everything is
more expensive ticket go into a race.
I remember when they came to indy Andeven though I had a frickin credential,

(47:17):
they have all these, they put all ofthese gates up and all of these fences
up, I'm like Hey, this is our turf here.
What are you doing?
Couldn't go in this garage.
You couldn't go here.
You have to go through these turnstiles.
When I talk to people from othercultures who say to me, you know,
there's fences around racetrack.
I never thought about this thatthey immediately feel excluded.

(47:37):
If they don't see a black person or ahispanic person or somebody even on the
other side of the fence, but the factthat there's a fence there, the message,
I mean, you have to have some, but informula one, you add that with spades.
I mean, you just add it becauseit's 10 layers of and all the
different places you can't go.
And it's like, come on.
So I just have a, you know,an attitude about formula one.
And I don't know, I guess, yeah.

(47:59):
I just want a woman to win the Indy500 and to win the NASCAR championship.
Sorry, you know, let the FormulaOne figure out their own issues,
but I'm more, that's doable.
And I think it's doable that we could havea woman, you know, literally win and be
in contention for the NASCAR championship.
We got to make a number of changesculturally, because we have to have teams
that really want to make that happen.
We don't yet.

(48:19):
The right teams, you know, like theexisting strong, I'm working on Penske.
At the same time, and I definitelycan see it happening in sports
cars, and I definitely cansee it happening in Indy cars.
I just want to thank you for theimportant safety hint about fire
extinguishers in cars, for the one car.
Oh, yes, yes.
Well, that was required for all cars.

(48:41):
Those discouraging times when youwent off track, what was it about
your personality that you didn'tquit and that you got back on track?
Well, I mean, seriously, it was, the Pintotaught me this immediately, you know.
I mean, if anything was goingto stop me in my tracks.
That would have been it.
I mean, it was so awful andlaughable to everybody, as I said.

(49:03):
But my husband said, how bad do you wantand how hard are you willing to work?
So, you know, the crash atRiverside probably caused.
the most concern for me becausephysically I walked away from it.
I mean, I had more injuries thatI realized, but I thought that
was gonna end my career because Ifigured I hadn't seen the film yet.
You know, I mean, I just got hit outof nowhere and then I hit another car
and the next thing were three missiles.

(49:24):
I mean, it was like,what the shit happened?
I don't know what happened, youknow, until I saw the footage and
men knew that it wasn't my fault.
But I thought, you know, I'm afraid, onthe weak link, and maybe in the eyes of
others, that this could end my career.
And as it turned out, theexact opposite happened.
I was afraid Ford Motor Companywould pull the sponsorship, because
there is a concern, and I get this,there is a concern for people who

(49:45):
make a decision to sponsor somebody.
That if somebody gets killed, orseriously injured, that they feel
a little sense of responsibility.
If it's a woman, there's, you knowwhat, the world was built this way.
The world was built foryou guys to protect us.
That's a cultural ingrainedfeeling that men have, and now
sometimes women have as mothers.
They have to get over that.
We know this.

(50:05):
We know we can die in a race car.
Otherwise you wouldn'tlet, balk at yourself in.
But there's that line of,how do we get over that?
And so when you've challenged that,then it's so easy for them to fall
back, the decision maker to fall back.
I don't want to go there again.
She walked away from thatone, but maybe not the next.
And instead, the response fromthe executives I found out at

(50:26):
Ford Motor Company was she reallydoes race just like the guys.
And that was like my fourthyear racing for Ford, you know.
And yet, so it solidified their beliefin me that because I'm tough enough.
And she didn't cry.
That was the other comment.
I'm like, you're kidding me.
But, you know, and then Icame back for more, you know.
So, I mean, we have to dispelthe myth, but not defy it because

(50:49):
it's ingrained in most of us.
But that's kind of.
Two years ago I oversaw a roundtableon women in motor sport and I floated
the idea of International Motor RacingWomen's Hall of Fame at Whatcom Glen.
That's something I'd like to askyou to maybe bring back to Cindy
and see if that's maybe in thenear future, but something that is

(51:14):
worthy of a discussion at some pointbecause your traveling exhibit.
It's just a small piece of that veryrich history and I think at some point
it's worth exploring the idea of afull hall of fame for women in racing,
both on the track and off the track.
Definitely worth considering.
I mean, I, I'm about inclusivityand, you know, and at the same

(51:37):
time, yeah, we'll talk about it.
Thank you for the idea though,for caring enough to bring it up.
First of all, I have to say thank youfor allowing us to work with you so many
times over the last couple of years,and we're an ally of WMNA for sure.
But one of my favorite questions, everytime we've gotten together, and I'm
not going to ask about Lamont, I'm notgoing to ask about this and that, it's a
one word question, and that is, Quatro.

(51:59):
Could you tell us a little bitabout racing against Hurley and
Hans back in the days of Trans Am?
Oh, I was going to say,where are we going with that?
Um, Well, when you have
And you're racing against all wheel drive.
In other words, when you don'thave all wheel drive, and you're
racing against all wheel drive.
And that's what we did for the seasonthat Hanstuck and Hurley Haywood had

(52:20):
the Audi Quattros against us with ourBig engines, lots of power, but we only
had two driving wheels rather than four.
It's just really frustrating becausecertain tracks we were okay, because we
wore horse like gear and we were fine.
The one that was the worst was NewJersey, you know, when we raced
around the stadium there in, uh,Meadowlands, Meadowlands, thank you.

(52:41):
You know, I still have memories andvisions of that, where that car would
would be going places where we couldn'tdo it, you know, and it was just like,
how do you, how do you beat that?
There's times when you justhave to, you know, bite your
lip and you got to deal with it.
So, and then obviously the officialstook care of that and that didn't
go forward the next season.
So, it's just really hard.
I mean, I would not want to be atechnical inspection person or somebody

(53:03):
writing the rules for, for trying.
I mean, I, I just bless, I can'tunderstand John Doonan and his
team of how you can have 18 OEMs.
With all of these different technologies,and now with all of the advanced
technologies you're trying to deal with,and somehow put them on a racetrack and
make them at least somewhat equal, andthen actually keep them in the game.
You know, it is incredibly challenging.

(53:24):
We are in a challenging timewith all this technology.
All I can say is that I'm glad Idrove when I drove, because we still
have shifts here, we're not doingthis, we've got power steering that
works, I mean, but there's, I'm justglad I did what I did when I did.
You know, there's some thingsyou just have to accept.
Somebody's got advantage, andsometimes you just have to accept it.
Suffer through the season and hopethey fix that for, you know, the
next season and you can go racing.

(53:45):
But, but thank you for, for having me.
Um, thank you for doing this.
I didn't quite understand itcompletely, to be honest, until I've
now been able to, you know, there'snothing like actually being in the
space of when something is happening.
It's hard to read aboutit and understand it.
But I think we need to dodeeper dives of our sport.
This is one way to do that.
Maybe get a way of getting that out to theworld a little more and communicating it.

(54:08):
But.
You know, our sport has a great history.
It's changing more rapidlynow than it probably ever has.
And I just think keep doingwhat you're doing and figure
out how to maybe do it better.
So thank you very much.
This episode is brought to you in part.
by the International MotorRacing Research Center.

(54:31):
Its charter is to collect,share, and preserve the
history of motorsports spanningcontinents, eras, and race series.
The Center's collection embodiesthe speed, drama, and camaraderie
of amateur and professional motorracing throughout the world.
The Center welcomes seriousresearchers and casual fans alike.

(54:53):
To share stories of race drivers,race series, and race cars captured
on their shelves and walls and broughtto life through a regular calendar of
public lectures and special events.
To learn more about the Center, visit www.
racingarchives.
org.
This episode is also brought to you bythe Society of Automotive Historians.

(55:19):
They encourage research into anyaspect of automotive history.
The SAH actively supports the compilationand preservation of papers, organizational
records, Print ephemera and images tosafeguard, as well as to broaden and
deepen the understanding of motorizedwheeled land transportation through

(55:40):
the modern age and into the future.
For more informationabout the SAH, visit www.
sah.
gov.
We hope you enjoyed another awesomeepisode of Brake Fix Podcast brought
to you by Grand Touring Motorsports.

(56:01):
If you'd like to be a guest onthe show or get involved, be sure
to follow us on all social mediaplatforms at Grand Touring Motorsports.
And if you'd like to learn moreabout the content of this episode,
be sure to check out the followon article at gtmotorsports.
org.
We remain a commercial free and noannual fees organization through
our sponsors, but also throughthe generous support of our fans,

(56:24):
families, and friends through Patreon.
For as little as 2.
50 a month, you can get access to morebehind the scenes action, additional
Pit Stop minisodes, and other VIPgoodies, as well as keeping our team
of creators fed on their strict diet ofFig Newtons, Gumby Bears, and Monster.
So consider signing upfor Patreon today at www.

(56:46):
patreon.
com forward slash GT Motorsports.
And remember, without you,none of this would be possible.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Decades Make a Difference (Lyn St. James)

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

All Episodes

Decades Make a Difference (Lyn St. James)

Stuff You Should Know