PHOENIX (March 13, 2021) – Iconic race car driver, writer, broadcaster, entrepreneur and motivational speaker Lyn St. James will serve as the honorary starter when she waves the green flag for the start of Sunday’s Instacart 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway. The Instacart 500 is set for Sunday at 12:30 p.m. PT on FOX, MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
“It’s an honor to have Lyn at our event and waving the green flag for the start of Sunday’s Instacart 500,” said Phoenix Raceway President Julie Giese. “Lyn is a motorsports icon and a pioneer for women in this industry. With March being Women’s History Month, it’s only fitting that we have Lyn be a major part of this weekend’s action at Phoenix Raceway.”
St. James is one of only nine women to have qualified for the Indianapolis 500 and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award in 1992. In 1985, St. James became the first woman to eclipse 200 mph on a race track when she reached 204.233 mph at Talladega Superspeedway. In 1995, during Indianapolis 500 qualifying, she again set a closed-course world record for women, reaching 225.722 mph. St. James was also named by Sports Illustrated as one of the “Top-100 Women Athletes of the Century.”
Sunday’s Instacart 500 Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway is at capacity, but fans can catch St. James waving the green flag on FOX at 12:30 p.m. PT. Fans at home can also participate in race day activities through Phoenix Raceway’s Virtual Experience available online at PhoenixRaceway.com/VirtualExperience and on the NASCAR Mobile App.
About Phoenix Raceway
Home to the 2021 NASCAR Championship Weekend, Phoenix Raceway has been the premier motorsports venue in the Southwest since 1964 and hosts two NASCAR race weekends each year. In 2021, the spring event weekend, March 12-14, kicks off the race season at Phoenix Raceway, featuring the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series. For only the second time in the history of the sport, Phoenix Raceway will host the NASCAR Championship Weekend, November 5-7. Over the three-day event, champions will be crowned in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series West. Phoenix Raceway also hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including corporate meetings and conferences, charity events, holiday events, sport and endurance competitions, driving schools and Segway tours. For more information, visit www.PhoenixRaceway.com.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series, NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
