27-01-2025
Women in Motorsports North America Helps Women (and Men) Get on Career Fast Track
Women in Motorsports North America organizers announced fifth annual summit will be held Dec. 9-10, 2025 at the PRI Show in Indianapolis.
If this year's event is anything like the previous four, it's going to be big—much like the group's mission.
Men are welcome to be a part of the WINMA experience.
Racer Lyn St. James has spent a lifetime of breaking down barriers, combatting stereotypes, bringing the positive energy and giving guidance to just about anyone looking to move up a few rungs on the racing ladder.
These days, St. James is helping champion what has to be one of the fastest-growing organizations in motorsports.
Women in Motorsports North America organizers announced this past weekend at Daytona International Speedway that its Women with Drive V fifth annual summit will be held Dec. 9-10, 2025 at the PRI Show in Indianapolis.
And if this year's event is anything like the previous four, it's going to be big—much like the group's mission.
"WIMNA is a group of men and women in the industry who are trying to help grow the industry," said St. James, who drove in seven Indianapolis 500s between 1992 and 2000. "It's not just about women. We do title it 'Women in Motorsports North America', but I want to make it really clear that it's about men and women coming together to help grow the industry.
"We do this because we want to advance opportunities for the women in the industry as well as bringing new women into the industry through our educational activities. We connect through connections from all forms of motorsports.
"And we enable. We enable more people to realize this is really a career. If you are studying engineering, business, finance, whatever, there's careers in this industry and we need to help it grow.
"We're here to stay. We're here to help the industry grow because we love it."
St. James is a co-founder of the high-energy group that is currently headed by executive director Cindy Sisson. Sisson has seen WIMNA grow from an initial Women with Drive summit four years ago at what she says was 'a honky tonk bar' that drew 110 people to where it has blossomed to bring in 340 people the second year, 450 in year three. This past December, the fourth annual event drew 620 at PRI.
"We've moving," Sisson says. "This year, we had 70-plus speakers and panelists, 60 partners, 40 female drivers, representatives from 38 states and eight countries and 25 universities with 52 college-age students.
"We are a community of professionals. A lot of people think were just about drivers, but we are about PR and marketing, communications, engineering, technical, racetracks, drivers, corporate management, media, human resources, education, hospitality, governing bodies, race series, suppliers, OEMs, medical, health, artists, and our favorite, the volunteers."
Men are welcome to be a part of the WINMA experience.
"We are not about displacing men," St. James adds. "We are about growing the industry. It's happening organically at many race teams. When women come into the teams, into the game, into the business, it brings different perspective. It really does grow the success of the team, of an organization.
"I hope the mindset that you all have in our messaging is not about displacing anybody. It is about growing this industry and bringing in more people and different perspectives. The industry is changing rapidly with technology and with the whole issue of what motorsports all about. It represents everything in life because of the competition, because of the technology, because of the human dynamics.
"We can demonstrate to the world that men and women can work together and win."
