Leigh,
Great story.
I have been up close and personal with Lynn a couple of times. Once at
the V8SHO shindig at the meadowlands in 1997 for those people that
bought the SHO V8 new in 1996 on the east coast.
Bill Staib sent me to cover it for the SHO Registry.
Lynn was the "lead" instructor and the big name they brought in but
there were about a dozen high quality pro drivers there, any of them
more interesting and informative than Lynn.
At one point she was supposed to demonstrat Under and oversteer with the
V8 SHO. Understeer was a no brainer, but when it came time for
oversteer, the rather small friction circle they had set up would not
let her get up much speed. She started with about normal tire pressures
and kept adding air.
At one point as this was not working at all, I pointed out that all the
"rules" for tires and stick said to loosen up a tire you let air out.
You saw the stare she gave me, didn't answer, just glared, the one that
can melt something harder than lead! :) I just raised my hands and
said "you are the one getting paid, go right ahead" and she eventually
just gave up. I also laughed. At least she wasn't aiming for me.
Don Mallinson
leighsm wrote:
> Agreed folks;
> I would put Lynn St James in the same witch category...let me tell you
> why...'cause I met her up close and personal....at 130mph
> ....
> Once upon a time ('89??) I had a SCCA Pro-Solo liscense, and we helped
> "work" the Cleveland joint SCCA Trans Am / Indy Car race.
> Well I'll try to make a long story short. I was the flagman who stood
> in the middle of the track on the starting grid, which at Cleveland is
> also the pit road, which is right off the end of the 130mph straight
> away. There was supposed to be a 70mph?? (IIRC) speed limit on pit road.
> ..
> Everybody politely followed it more or less...except LYNN. She had a
> big chip on her shoulder., ...and routinely blew into pit road at full
> speed, during practice no less......And it turns out she was using ME
> as her braking marker...as to when she should brake to turn into her
> pit...at 130mph...maybe 3-4 car lengths away from me...closing at 200
> ft/sec... she aimed RIGHT AT ME. Then she nailed the brakes and turned
> left just 60 ft from me.. 3-4 times, and ducked into her pit.. I
> stayed still so she wouldn't hit me, (like we were told), but I damned
> near wet myself, more than once. (Trust me, life does go into "slow
> motion" when you are staring certain danger in the face.)
> ..
> Worst part was the little grin I caught on her face when she saw the
> fear on my face. After a couple times of this horse s***, a much more
> experienced course worker, who obviously didn't like her very much
> either, said to me "Well WHO SAID you have to stand EXACTLY there????
> ....Back up 50 ft, and she'll miss her pit!"..
> ..
> So I did back up, and she still almost sucked off my shoelaces again,
> but when she turned to look for her pit, IT WASN'T THERE, and she SPUN
> THE CAR, on PIT ROAD no less.. . This earned her a visit and a stern
> warning from the race official, who had the BLACK FLAG tucked under
> his arm for emphasis, as he leaned into her stalled Trans Am car in
> the middle of the Taxi strip that is pit road...
> ..
> Well you know that LOOK women can give you?? Well you should have seen
> the one she shot me!!!!!!!! ( I already feared for my life, and this
> one had my death warrant on it)
> ..
> Next lap she came around, I was still safely on the grass infield, and
> about a half dozen of us were still laughing our heads off!!!
> ..
> Served her right!
> ...
> Oh yeah, she was driving 60 mph this time, too.
> ..
> Lee
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