Lyn St. James (born Evelyn Gene Cornwall; March 13, 1947) is an American former race car driver. She competed in the IndyCar series, with eleven CART and five Indy Racing League starts to her name. St. James is one of nine women who have qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award (oldest to win the award at 45, a record she held for 30 years until Jimmie Johnson won it when he was 46 in 2022).^[2] She also has two class victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona,^[3] and won the GTO class, partnering with Calvin Fish and Robby Gordon, at the 1990 12 Hours of Sebring.^[4] Additionally she has competed in endurance racing in Europe, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, at which her AMC Spirit AMX team ^[5] placed first and second in class in 1979.^[6][7]

St. James founded the Women in the Winner's Circle Foundation in 1994 and is a motivational speaker. She has served on the board of trustees of Kettering University, and since 2015, serves as an appeal panelist for NASCAR's National Motorsports Appeals Panel.^[8]

In 1986, she was driving a Ford Probe during the IMSA LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside International Raceway and was in a big accident involving both Chip Robinson and Doc Bundy.^[9]

• She was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2023.

Lyn St. James was born Carol Gene Cornwall, but shortly after birth, her first name was changed to Evelyn, after her aunt. After her first marriage to John Carusso, she changed her name to Lyn Carusso. Eventually she would adopt the professional name Lyn St. James in her business and racing activities. She got the idea from the name of actress Susan Saint James. Upon her divorce from Carusso, she legally changed her name to Lyn St. James.^[22]