Shawna Robinson

Robinson started competing in her childhood and, after graduating from high school in 1983, she began racing in semi-tractors. She achieved early success with 30 victories, and moved into the GATR Truck Series becoming the championship's rookie of the year for 1984. Four years later, Robinson started competing in stock car racing where she became the first woman to win a top-level NASCAR-sanctioned race that same year, finishing a career-high third place in the points standings. The following season, Robinson won two races and battled for the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series championship in which she finished third overall. She was twice voted the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Most Popular Driver.

Robinson moved to the NASCAR Busch Series in 1991 where she struggled to perform well but achieved one pole position in 1994. Robinson left a year later to start a family and began an interior decorating business. In 1999, she returned to active competition in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series where she ran strongly, and finished sixth in the series championship standings the following year. Robinson returned to NASCAR in 2001, and made her debut in the Winston Cup Series but was unable to compete successfully. She retired from racing four years later to focus on her family and concentrate on running her interior design and furniture business.

Biography

Early life and career Robinson was born on November 30, 1964, in Des Moines, Iowa. Her legal name is Eileen "Shawna" Jade, but she went by Shawna on the racetrack. She is the youngest of five children of former race car driver Richard "Lefty" Robinson, an amateur diesel truck racer who worked on cars in his home garage and promoted races in the Midwestern United States, and his wife Lois who competed in auto racing before she flipped a car, and was asked by Lefty to stop racing. She grew up in a poor family. Lefty and Lois were also known for innovative ways of entertaining crowds at stock car races which garnered national recognition. Robinson was inspired by race car drivers A. J. Foyt, Sammy Swindell, and Steve Kinser in her teenage years, and found inspiration in woman driver Janet Guthrie by her early twenties, as she had more interest in NASCAR than open-wheel racing. She and her siblings were taught that they were allowed to do anything they wished and drove minibikes, motorcycles, and snowmobiles.

After graduating from Saydel High School in 1983, Robinson spent the summer deciding on her career path as she worked as a department store cashier. She went with her father to help him promote local races. Robinson persuaded him to let her compete in racing, and started off at Toledo Speedway driving a 1976 International semi-tractor. She participated in a five-lap sprint race where she finished second after leading for four laps, and took third position in the feature event. After this Robinson began racing full-time, and won thirty feature races before moving to the super-speedway division in April 1984; She was voted the 1984 GATR Rookie of the Year. Robinson went to France to compete in the Paul Ricard Grand Prix Truck Race the following year, and took second in the 1986 Grand Prix of Trucks held in Mexico City. Robinson was victorious in the GATR Big Rig race at Flemington Speedway in 1987. That same year, she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina because the city is the center for stock car racing. Robinson started the season with a third-place finish in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Florida 200 at Daytona International Speedway. She finished third in the Drivers' Championship, and was awarded the series' Rookie of the Year accolade as the highest-placed first season driver. Robinson was also voted by her fellow competitors the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Most Popular Driver at the series' awards banquet held in Charlotte. Robinson later started first and won the Dash Series race at Myrtle Beach Speedway; It wouldn't be another 29 years until another female driver won a major NASCAR touring race. Heading into the season's final race at Langley Speedway, Robinson stood third, 86 points behind championship leader Gary Wade Finley. She need to secure victory if Finley finished last, and her other rival Larry Caudill took seventh, to win the series championship. Robinson secured fourth position in the race, and took third in the points standings. Robinson retained the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Most Popular Driver award. She participated in all thirty Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series events held between 1988 and 1989, and achieved 21 top-ten finishes. At the time, the Busch Grand National Series was considered NASCAR's feeder circuit, a proving ground for drivers who wished to step up to the organization's premiere circuit, the Winston Cup. Early on, she ran sponsor-less because no one provided funding for her. Robinson qualified 26th fastest and finished fifteenth at her first Busch Series race, which took place at Orange County Speedway. Later that year, she finished 21st at Motor Mile Speedway, and eighteenth at the season's second race held at Orange County Speedway. The final race Robinson qualified for was at Charlotte Motor Speedway driving the No. 49 Ferree Racing car, where she finished 41st after an accident. Robinson failed to qualify for the race at Martinsville Speedway. She finished 54th in the Busch Series points standings. Robinson began the season with a 34th place finish in the Goody's 300, and was involved in an accident after completing 67 laps. Before the Champion 300, Robinson moved to the Pharo Racing No. 33 car after she was released by Silver Racing, and later moved to the No. 25 vehicle owned by Laughlin Racing. Although she struggled during her rookie season, she performed well in July and August, where she finished eleventh (her best of the season) in the Firecracker 200 at Volusia County Speedway, and she equaled the result at Michigan International Speedway. Robinson finished 38th in the final Busch Series championship standings,

Robinson went to the No. 35 Chevrolet for Laughlin Racing for the 1993 Busch Series, and drove in twenty-four races. Robinson finished the year 23rd in the final points standings, the highest of her Busch Series career. Robinson returned to Ferree Racing to drive the No. 46 Chevrolet for the 1994 Busch Series season.

At the season's second race (at Rockingham Speedway), she started second but finished 36th after being involved in a crash. Robinson achieved her first top-ten finish in the Busch Series later in the season with a tenth-place result in the Fay's 150 at Watkins Glen. and ended the year 47th overall. Robinson attempted to enter the Daytona 500, but failed to qualify after finishing 26th in the first Gatorade Twin 125s event. Robinson secured two top-20 finishes in the Busch Series in the team's No. 36 car, but retired from racing after four events to start a family with her husband Jeff Clark. She declined an offer to test at Daytona International Speedway while in the early stages of pregnancy.

Robinson returned to racing in 1999 in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series with car owner James Finch. At her debut race in the FirstPlus Financial 200 at Daytona International Speedway, she took a second place finish, the best for a woman driver in the championship. Afterward, Robinson moved into a car owned by Winston Cup Series driver Jeremy Mayfield, and finished fourth at Lowe's Motor Speedway. She qualified in eighth place at the final race of her year in Talladega Superspeedway but was involved in a crash after completing 66 laps and retired from the event. Robinson clinched the season's highest finishing rookie award. During the season, Robinson took top-ten finishes in half the races she entered, and competed alongside the series' points leaders. Robinson became the first woman to lead at least one lap in the ARCA Series at Toledo Speedway that same year. Robinson finished sixth in the Drivers' Championship standings, making her the first woman to finish within the top-six final standings in an American national oval track motor sports series. The seat materialized when she met Tim Butler and Ken Butler of Aaron's at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the fall of 2000. She later received a phone call from team owner/driver Michael Waltrip who arranged a three-race agreement, but did not reply because she was under contract with Kranefuss. Bobby Kennedy acted as Robinson's crew chief. In her three races, she achieved one top-twenty finish but did not finish the first two events having been involved in crashes. She continued a strong run in ARCA Series with two top-ten finishes in the season's first two races.

Robinson later made her debut in the Winston Cup Series in the No. 84 Michael Kranefuss Racing Ford Taurus, and planned to run six races. The events were chosen because they were at tracks where Robinson felt comfortable, located in large markets where they would receive more attention. Her schedule was devised to allow Robinson time to test. She planned to race at Talladega Superspeedway but decided against it because of the rules regarding restrictor plate racing. Four races later, she started from 32nd at Michigan International Speedway, and became the first woman to start a NASCAR Cup Series race since Patty Moise in 1989. Robinson finished 34th after spinning her car in the track's second turn but avoided damage. After she failed to qualify for her next two races, she was unable to complete her schedule due to sponsorship issues. Robinson stated that she used the season as motivation; she hoped to be driving consistently in five years, and wanted to be a spokesperson for women.

Robinson moved to BAM Racing in October 2001 and drove her sole race in the NASCAR Winston West Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that same month. Robinson was sent to a driving school to familiarize herself with the track, and Kranefuss granted her permission to race. She retired due to a car failure while running in third position. Team owner Tony Morgenthau first noticed Robinson at an ARCA race at Pocono Raceway the previous year when she made contact with his driver Matty Mullins who was sent into the wall. He had been impressed with her pace at Las Vegas, and asked Robinson afterward why she had not competed in more events. He later offered her a multi-year contract which she signed in December 2001. Her crew chief was former Busch Series driver Eddie Sharp. She attempted to qualify for 24-races during the 2002 season since her team had no owner points because they were a new operation. Robinson went to Kranefuss to terminate her contract with his team.

At the season-opening Daytona 500, Robinson qualified in 36th place making her the second woman to start the race; she finished 24th despite spinning into the track's infield, and avoided a pit road collision with Bobby Labonte. After the event, Sharp left BAM Racing, and car chief Teddy Brown became Robinson's new crew chief. |group="n" Robinson made no further appearances for BAM Racing after the Pepsi 400, and was later released by the team. She ended the season 52nd in the Drivers' Championship, Outside racing, Robinson spoke for Women in Sports, and attended meetings of several associations and business groups while taking the time to be with her children. At her first race at Texas Motor Speedway, she finished 18th after incurring two race penalties which put her five laps behind race winner Brendan Gaughan. Robinson followed it up with consecutive 29th-place finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway but failed to finish both events, and finished the year 72nd overall. She returned to ARCA in the same year, and drove in the season's first two races. Robinson failed to finish at Daytona International Speedway due to an engine failure, and took an 11th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Robinson competed in the annual ten-lap Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach, California, as one of five drivers in the "Pro" category. She finished seventh overall and fourth in her class. Robinson drove in two Iowa State Fair dirt races in August 2003. She failed to qualify for the event. Robinson left auto racing at the end of 2005 after poor performances driving six races for the No. 23 Keith Coleman Racing team in the Busch Series, and vowed that if she returned, she would do it by herself. She refused to be labelled as either a "start and park" or a "gimmick" driver because she was a woman.

Post-racing career Robinson focused on her family full-time, and continued to concentrate on her interior design business. Several of her clients came from the NASCAR community. She also started a company called Happy Chairs in the Matthews area of Charlotte where she creates her own furniture and redesigns old chairs. Robinson names designer Trina Turk and several clothing companies as her influences.

Robinson applied to participate in the CBS reality competition show The Amazing Race 16 with NASCAR Truck Series driver Jennifer Jo Cobb as her teammate but both were cut from the program. Robinson was invited to donate memorabilia to the NASCAR Hall of Fame but did not send anything because of her commitment to The Amazing Race 16 audition. In March 2014, Robinson was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, which she was told had also spread to her lymph nodes. She underwent treatment with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, causing the removal of 18 lymph nodes and a lump in her breast. Robinson was cared for by her mother-in-law for seven months. Her friends ran her businesses on her behalf. Earnhardt Miller along with Dale Earnhardt Jr., ran fundraising events to help Robinson pay her medical bills.

Legacy Robinson has been described as "a competent racer" by fellow drivers. As a woman race car driver, Robinson was a pioneer in NASCAR racing, and she established a precedent that allowed others like Danica Patrick to follow. In an interview for Sports Illustrated for Women in 2002, Robinson stated that she was an athlete who wanted to compete and win: "Whatever car I'm in, whatever series I'm running, whatever track I'm racing—I want people to know Shawna Robinson was there." Robinson felt she carried on the work of Janet Guthrie in "opening doors for a lot of women" in auto racing and other male-dominated sports.

Joe Dan Bailey, who worked alongside seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, stated Robinson had similar qualities to Earnhardt including how to improve the feel of her car and how it behaved. In an interview with USA Weekend in 2002, Robinson stated that her success was down to an intensive training regime which allowed her to maintain her focus. 2001 nowrap| Michael Kranefuss Racing 84 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL

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GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MAR TAL PHO CAR HOM ATL NHA 66th 61 2002 BAM Racing 49 Dodge

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CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL CAR PHO HOM 52nd 361 1995 Colburn Racing 36 Ford

NSV DAR BRI HCY NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW TAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM

69th 227 2001 Michael Waltrip Racing 99 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI

CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV KEN MLW GLN CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM PHO CAR HOM

82nd 186 Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2003 Mike Starr Racing 49 Chevy DAY DAR MMR MAR CLT DOV TEX18 MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA CAL LVS29 SBO TEX29 MAR PHO HOM 72nd 261

Busch North Series NASCAR Busch North Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Pts Ref 1993 Mike Laughlin 35 Chevy LEE NHA MND NZH HOL GLN JEN STA GLN NHA34 WIS NHA NHA RPS TMP WMM LEE EPP LRP 75th 61

Winston West Series NASCAR Winston West Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 2001 BAM Racing 48 Pontiac PHO LVS TUS MMR CAL IRW LAG KAN EVG CNS IRW RMR LVS17 IRW 53rd 112

ARCA Re/Max Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Re/Max Series results Year Team Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1999 Phoenix Racing 1 Chevy DAY2 ATL SLM AND TAL30 ATL 55th 510 Michael Kranefuss Racing 8 Ford CLT4 MCH POC TOL SBS BLN POC KIL FRS FLM ISF WIN DSF SLM CLT 2000 DAY13 SLM9 AND6 CLT23 KIL9 FRS25 MCH33 POC4 TOL7 KEN24 BLN10 POC36 WIN7 ISF12 KEN10 DSF19 SLM15 CLT13 TAL6 ATL5* 6th 4265 2003 PBM Racing 65 Dodge DAY33 105th 240 Chevy ATL11 NSH SLM TOL KEN CLT BLN KAN MCH LER POC POC NSH ISF WIN DSF CHI SLM TAL CLT SBO