6 women put on IRL fast track
  Opportunities sought in developmental series

By DAVID THOMAS

 Fort Worth Star-Telegram


One-time Indy-car driver Lyn St. James, long a promoter of providing opportunities for women in motorsports, spent Tuesday watching six female drivers working at Texas Motor Speedway to earn a spot in the Indy Racing League's Menards Infiniti Pro Series for 2005. "I feel a sense of appreciation," St. James said. "It's just cool to know something really, really good is happening."But St. James stopped short of saying she feels a sense of accomplishment.

"I think when one of these women is in this victory circle," she said, pointing behind TMS' pit row, "then I'll feel like I've accomplished something."

The IRL's developmental series comes to Texas on June 10, and owner Kathryn Nunn wants to bring one, and possibly two, female drivers to that race. No female drivers have beenpart of the Infiniti Pro Series, which began in 2002.

Nunn Motorsports is holding three days of testing at TMS and plans to announce by the end of the year who will fill a vacant seat when the 2005 season begins March 6 in Miami. Nunn said Tuesday, during the second day of testing, that she is pursuing sponsorships that would allow her to field a second car for a female driver.

That announcement drew applause from the drivers seated near Nunn, the first female to own an IRL eam. Nunn's husband, Morris, founded Mo Nunn Racing in 1999. Her Nunn Motorsports team joined the Pro Series in July, for the series' fourth of 12 races, and won four of the final six events with brothers James and P.J. Chesson.

St. James, one of three women to start in the Indy 500, cited Nunn's success in her first go in the series as proof that Nunn's interest is in more than hiring a female driver. Nunn wants to hire a winning female driver.

"I think it's time," Nunn said, "and I think there are now women out there who don't just drive in circles, who can be competitive and be up front with the men."

Nunn brought drivers to TMS with what she called "very, very solid credentials" in Becca Anderson, Juliana Chiovitti, Sondi Eden, Rossella Manfrinato, Wendy Mathis and Sarah McCune. All are in their mid-20s, except the 35-year-old Manfrinato. All except Manfrinato, an Italian with an extensive engineering background, were racing by age 13.

Katherine Lgge, from England, was a late addition as an alternate. Legge failed to make the top six, but asked to attend just in case a slot opened. Legge's perseverance resulted in Nunn rewarding her with a short session in the car during Tuesday's lunch break.

For each, the opportunity falls into the dream-come-true category.

"A lot of people dream of this their whole lives," Chiovitti said. "All of a sudden, we get a phone call at 7 o'clock in the morning, asking, 'Will you come out?' You're like, 'I'll be there. When? In my pajamas? Wnt me now?' "

Mathis, at age 26, feared her chance to move up had passed.

"You never in a million years think you're going to get an opportunity like this," said Mathis, who began racing quarter midgets at age 12. "And then the second reaction was like, 'Wow, all these years of racing have finally paid off.' "

That's a feeling St. James hopes to experience when a woman drives into victory circle on a circuit such as the Pro Series, with its television overage and strong fan base.

"We've proven we can race, we've proven we can race hard and that we want it just as bad as everybody else," St. James said. "But we're missing that piece. And that's what it takes, is to take it to a level where people are paying attention."