What big-time racing lacks is something it's always lacked, which is a pit road lined with female drivers.

Lyn St. James, one of the most successful women to reach racing's highest levels, is trying to rectify that with a driver development program she began 10 years ago. It's been a slow process, and until Danica Patrick was added earlier this week to Bobby Rahal's Indy Racing League team, there were no female drivers with full-time rides in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, Indy Racing League or in Champ Car. But St. James isn't giving up.

"My goal in starting the program (Women in the Winners Circle Foundation and Driver Development Program) was to give back to the sport that can be so selfish," said St. James, who recently moved to Phoenix and is conducting her latest program this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. "Something like this would have helped me when I was getting started. It would help any driver."

advertisement

Several diversity programs designed to provide more opportunities for minority and female drivers have been launched over the past few years, but none have been around as long as St. James' program, a non-profit organization catering mostly to females hoping to make substantial inroads into a male-dominated sport.

St. James was the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year in 1992 and made seven starts in the sport's most prestigious race, including the 2000 race when she was 53. Her career also included two starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but all told, St. James made only 15 starts on the CART (now Champ Car) and IRL circuits.

St. James said she believes the days of full-time female drivers in the sport's most exclusive classes are near. Her program is designed to put them in a faster lane to the top.

Only one of the four days in the PIR program is devoted to on-track driving in open wheel and stock cars from the Richard Petty Driving Experience. The remaining days are classroom instruction devoted to working with the media and sponsors, and mental and physical training. Scheduled speakers include Dr. Jacques Dallaire, founder and president of Human Performance International Inc., and Don Hawk, representing NASCAR's Drive for Diversity Program.

"A lot of guys have come through my program, but the focus is on females," said St. James, who is 57 and retired from racing. "I've watched a lot of championship-caliber drivers on the racetrack, and one day you never hear from them again because they didn't know the other things you need to know about racing. It's amazing how much talent falls by the wayside because it's not always about the most talented driver. You have to be pretty savvy in the other stuff, too.

"The simple goal of this program is to try and give a realistic view of what it takes to be a professional in this sport. Some people have unrealistic expectations, and they end up wasting a lot of energy because they're not prepared. They didn't realize they would have to work hard outside of the car. . . .

"Some of the gals that have come through the program quit racing. At first, that was disturbing to me. But then I realized I did them a favor by helping them know whether professional racing was for them or not."

Lynsey Tilton, a 17-year-old dirt-track driver from Lakeside, Calif., is one of 24 students enrolled in the PIR course. They range in age from 14 to 32 and represent 13 states and three countries. It's Tilton's second time through the class as she continues to pursue a goal of racing in the IRL or NASCAR.

"I want to refresh all my media skills and learn to drive different cars," said Tilton, who was Rookie of the Year in the Arizona Midget Association this season after finishing third in the championship standings. "I just hope to get a lot of information that I didn't get when I went through it the first time when I was 13. When you talk to potential sponsors, you have to know how to set up your proposals."

Tilton comes from a family of racers. In May, she was one of four females invited by the Ford Motor Co. to participate in a driver development test designed to help a woman reach the top NASCAR level.

"My background is open wheel racing, but NASCAR seems to be where everyone is going these days," Tilton said. "I just want to be ready if I get that chance. That's why I'm going through the program again. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. It really lets you know what you have to do to get to the next step."

Unlike Tilton, Melanie Troxel, a 32-year-old drag racer from Avon, Ind., isn't sure what to expect from the program.

"I kind of suspect it's geared more toward the younger girls just getting started in the sport," said Troxel, a part-time Top Fuel racer striving to land a full-time ride. "With drag racing, I come from an entirely different side than a lot of these drivers. I have a little more experience, but a lot of times when you think you have things figured out, somebody else has a different perspective and it kind of enlightens you a little bit.

"This might be a good opportunity for me to learn a little more and see if I can't pick something up from it. I think very highly of Lyn as a driver, and she's a person who's really thinking about the sport and how women can make the most of it."

St. James believes more opportunities will open for women in the next several years, and the development of female stars will follow.

"There's been a large increase in females in the Soap Box Derby over the last 10 years, and that shows the grass-roots interest that's there," said St. James, a member of the Women's Sports Foundation governance committee and NASCAR's Diversity Council and Appeals Commission. "I'm doing what I'm doing to help women have a vision of what the future could hold for them. Hopefully, the cream will rise to the top.

"If you have 20 women vying for a seat, maybe 10 will make it. Right now, there's maybe three or five trying to get a seat somewhere. The thing is, we just can't have one woman out there, because if there's only one and she has a couple of bad seasons, then she falls off the radar screen.

"If we can get two or three women in NASCAR trucks, two or three in the Busch Series and two or three in the Nextel Cup, that tells sponsors there's a critical mass within the ladder system, and chances one of them will finish in the top five increase. I think that might be 10 years away, but it's something to look forward to."