Ride of your Life by Lyn St. James
2002 hardbound. 274 pages, b&w photos
Man, or in this case woman, does not live on MGs alone. Or even LBCs. This is the story of Lyn St. James' journey to Indianapolis, where she drove in numerous 500s, particularly in the year 2000, her last Indy race. Although she was not the first or the last woman to drive at Indy, it is certainly a male dominated sport. The book explains how she survived in such an environment.
The book doesn't chronicle her racing career, but it does hit on the high points, good and bad. For example, she ended up driving into a pond while driving a Ford Pinto during an SCCA race in Florida. Nor does she write much about her personnel life outside of the racing environment. She does however give good insights to the workings of Indy, how the teams (drivers) secure funding, how it feels emotionally and physically to survive crashes.
The book is well written and she names names. I found this to be an interesting read, and I'm not Indy 500 fan. Wilbur
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