Shawna Robinson

Shawna Robinson
Born (1964-11-30) November 30, 1964
Des Moines, Iowa
Awards 1988, 1989 Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
8 races run over 2 years
Best finish 52nd (2002)
First race 2001 Kmart 400 (Michigan)
Last race 2002 Pepsi 400 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
61 races run over 7 years
Best finish 23rd (1993)
First race 1991 Roses Stores 300 (Rougemont)
Last race 2005 Sharpie Professional 250 (Bristol)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 1
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
3 races run over 1 year
Best finish 72nd (2003)
First race 2003 O'Reilly 400K (Texas)
Last race 2003 Silverado 350 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Shawna Robinson (born November 30, 1964) is an former American professional stock car racing driver. She was a competitor in all three of NASCAR's national touring series, as well as the ARCA Racing Series and the Goody's Dash Series. Robinson is one of 16 women to participate in the NASCAR Cup Series, and one of three to race in the series' premier event, the Daytona 500.

Robinson started competing in her childhood, and after graduating from high school in 1983, she started 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 NASCAR where she became the first woman to win a NASCAR grand touring race that same year. She moved up to the Busch Series (now called Xfinity Series) in 1991 where she struggled but achieved one pole position in 1994. She left a year later to start a family.

In 1999, Robinson returned to active competiting in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series where she ran strongly the following year by finishing sixth in the series championship. Robinson returned to NASCAR in 2001 and made her début in the Winston Cup Series (now the Sprint Cup Series) and retired from racing four years later to focus on her family and interior design and furniture businesses.

Biography

Early life and career

Robinson was born on November 30, 1964 in Des Moines, Iowa. 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 worked on promoting 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.[1] She grew up in a poor family. Lefty and Lois were also known for innovative methods of entertaining crowds at stock car races which garnered national recognition.[2] Robinson was inspired by race car drivers A. J. Foyt, Sammy Swindell and Steve Kinser in her teenage years and later found inspiration in female driver Janet Guthrie by her early twenties. She, along with her siblings, were taught they could do anything they wished and drove minibikes, motorcycles and snowmobiles.[1]

After graduating from high School in 1983, Robinson spent the summer deciding on her career path as she worked as a department store cashier.[3][4] She went with her father to help him promote local races. Robinson persuaded him to compete in racing, and started off at Toledo Speedway driving a 1976 International semi-tractor. She started in a five-lap race where she finished second after leading four laps, and took third position in the feature race. Afterward, Robinson began racing full time and won 30 feature races before moving to the super-speedway division in April 1984; she faced early resentment from her male competitors.[1][3] In the same year, Robinson moved from Iowa to Pennsylvania. Lefty believed Robinson's presence helped to increase the fan's interest.[2]

In the same year, she became the first woman to win a GATR Truck Series points-scoring race on a super-speedway when she won the Milwaukee Mile Bobtail 100 at Milwaukee Mile.[1] Robinson was also sponsored by her father for the remainder of the season after achieving her first race victory.[5] 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 took victory in the GATR Big Rig race at Flemington Speedway in 1987.[1]

NASCAR and ARCA

1980s and 1990s

Robinson began competing in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series in the spring of 1988.[1] She caught the attention of the Global Marketing Sports Group owned by Pat Patterson who found her a race seat with car owner David Watson, and she drove a Pontiac Sunbird.[6] Robinson started the season with a third-place finish in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Florida 200 at Daytona International Speedway.[1] She became the first woman to win a NASCAR sanctioned-race with a victory in the AC Delco 100 at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway on June 10, 1988 after starting 13th and took the lead seven laps before the finish.[6][7]

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 as the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Most Popular Driver at the series' awards banquet in Charlotte, North Carolina.[6] In the following year, she continued her success by clinching the first pole position by a female driver in NASCAR at I-95 Speedway, and along with setting a new track record, Robinson took pole and won the Dash Series race at Myrtle Beach Speedway. She also retained the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Most Popular Driver award.[1]

Robinson started driving in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity Series) in 1991, driving the No. 77 Huffman Racing Buick. 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 struggled to find sponsorship and ran the season without an sponsor.[8] Robinson qualified twenty-sixth fastest and finished fifteenth at her first Busch Series race, which took place at Orange County Speedway. Later that year, she finished twenty-first at Motor Mile Speedway and eighteenth at a 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 forty-first after an accident. Robinson failed to qualify for the race at Martinsville Speedway. She finished fifty-fourth in the Busch Series points standings.[9]

In the 1992 Busch Series, Robinson moved to Silver Racing, driving the No. 21 Oldsmobile. Robinson began the season with a thirty-fourth place finish at the Goody's 300 and was involved in an accident after completing sixty-seven laps.[10] 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 car owned by Laughlin Racing. Although she struggled during her rookie season, she performed well in July and August at Volusia County Speedway where she finished eleventh (her best of the season) in the Firecracker 200, and she equalled the result at Michigan International Speedway. Robinson finished thirty-eighth in the final Busch Series championship standings,[11] and was second in the NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year behind Ricky Craven despite her abbreviated schedule.[1]

Robinson switched to the No. 35 Chevrolet for Laughlin Racing for the 1993 Busch Series to run twenty-four races.[12] At the season-opening Goody's 300, she retired after seventy-one laps due to a blown engine; her team also switched manufacturers during the season to Oldsmobile and Pontiac.[13] She took her best finish of the season with an eleventh place in the Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. She did not qualify for four races in the 1993 season. Robinson finished the year twenty-third in the final Busch Series points standings, the highest of her career.[12] She made her first start in the Busch North Series (now the K&N Pro Series East) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where she qualified and finished in 34th position after her engine failed.[14] Robinson returned to Ferree Racing to drive the No. 46 Chevrolet for the 1994 Busch Series season.[15]

At the season's second race (at Rockingham Speedway), she started second but finished 36th after being involved in a crash.[15] Two races later, Robinson won her first career pole position at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Busch Light 300, which broke a track record in the Busch Series. On the race's first lap, she battled with Joe Nemechek and Mike Wallace through the track's third turn when Wallace collided with Robinson which sent her into Nemechek. Robinson continued with heavy front-end damage, but retired after completing sixty-three laps with radiator damage.[8] She attempted to qualify for the Busch North Series race at New Hampshire but did not qualify.[16] Robinson achieved her first top-ten finish later in the season by securing 10th place in the Fay's 150 at Watkins Glen.[12] However, she was released from the team shortly afterward, and ended year the 47th overall.[15]

She went to drive the No. 36 Colburn Racing Ford for the 1995 season. Robinson attempted to enter the Daytona 500, but failed to qualify after finishing 26th in the first Gatorade Twin 125s event.[17] Robinson secured two top-20 finishes in the Busch Series, but retired from racing after four races to start a family with her husband Jeff Clark, a car engine builder.[12][18] She declined an offer to test at Daytona International Speedway while in the early stages of pregnancy.[2] Shortly after the birth of her two children, Robinson started an interior-decorating business from her home and painted murals for homes and businesses.[18][19] She said of her decision to have children: "Racing is part of who I am, If I became a different person because I had kids, then the kids were not going to know who I was my whole life before them."[18] Robinson returned to racing in 1999 in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series with car owner James Finch. At her début at Daytona, she took a second-place finish in the FirstPlus Financial 200, the best for a female driver in the championship.[n 1] Afterward, Robinson moved into a car owned by Winston Cup Series driver Jeremy Mayfield, and finished in fourth-place at Lowe's Motor Speedway.[20] Robinson clinched the season's highest finishing rookie award.[1]

2000s

Following her results of the previous year, Kranefuss-Haas Racing owner Michael Kranefuss supported Robinson having seen her compete at Daytona. He consulted with other drivers and received positive feedback about Robinson. Kranefuss and Mayfield elected to give her a full-time seat for the 2000 season.[20] She broke the track record at Michigan International Speedway where she clinched her first pole position in ARCA. At the race's start, she crashed after leaving a turn and was briefly hospitalized with two broken ribs and injured her right shoulder. During the season, Robinson took top-ten finishes in half the races she entered, and reclaimed the series' highest finishing rookie award.[1] She became the first woman to lead at least one in the ARCA Series at Toledo Speedway that same year.[12] Robinson finished sixth in the Drivers' Championship standings, which made her the first woman to finish in the top ten final standings in a national oval track motor sports series.[1][21]

In 2001, Robinson returned to NASCAR to drive the No. 99 Michael Waltrip Racing car for three races in the Busch Series with the objective of obtaining a season-long drive in 2002.[22] The seat materialized when she met Tim Butler and Ken Butler of Aaron's Rents 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 answer due to being under contact with Kranefuss.[23] Bobby Kennedy acted as Robinson's crew chief.[24] In her three races, she achieved one top-20 finish, and did not finish the first two events due to crashes.[25] She continued a strong run in ARCA Series with two top-ten finishes in the season's first two races.[26]

She later made her début in the Winston Cup Series in the No. 84 Michael Kranefuss Racing Ford and planned to run six races. The tracks were chosen because they were at tracks that Robinson felt comfortable, and they were located in large markets where they would receive more attention. Her schedule was devised to allow Robinson time to test.[27] She planned to race at Talladega but decided against it because of the rules regarding restrictor plate racing.[23] Robinson failed to qualify for the first race she attempted (at California Speedway) when her rear-end gearing broke off her car which caused her to crash into the wall.[28] Four races later, Robinson started from 32nd in her first race at Michigan. Robinson finished 34th after spinning her car in the track's second turn but avoided damage, and she became the first woman to start a NASCAR Cup Series race since Patty Moise in 1989.[1] After she failed to qualify for her next two races, she was unable to complete her schedule due to sponsorship issues.[29] Robinson stated that she used the season to garner motivation, and hoped to be a consistent driver in five years and wanted to be a spokesperson for women.[30]

She moved to BAM Racing in October 2001 and drove her first (and only) 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 car failure while running in third position.[31] Team owner Tony Morgenthau first noticed Robinson at a ARCA race at Pocono Raceway the previous year when she made contact with his driver Matty Mullins who was sent into the wall, and Morgenthau had been impressed with her pace at Las Vegas. He spoke to Robinson after the race and asked her why she had not competed in more races; he later offered her a multi-year contract which she signed in December 2001 and would attempt 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, and her crew chief was former Busch Series driver Eddie Sharp.[29][31]

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.[32] After Daytona, Sharp left BAM Racing and car chief Teddy Brown became Robinson's new crew chief.[31] She struggled during her rookie season and was unable to attend most races due to sponsorship issues along with her team hiring new drivers which limited her on track experience. Robinson was later released by BAM Racing after the season's second event at Daytona.[n 2][1][21] She ended the season 52nd in the Drivers' Championship,[1] and was fourth in the rookie of the year standings.[34] Outside of racing, Robinson spoke for Women in Sports and attended meetings of several associations and business groups.[31] She separated from Jeff Clark in early 2002 and both remained on good terms.[19]

Robinson switched to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2003 and drove the No. 49 Mike Starr Racing Chevrolet Silverado for three races with an all-female pit crew.[21] At her first race at Texas Motor Speedway, she finished 18th after inccuring two race penalties which placed her five laps behind race winner Brendan Gaughan.[35] Robinson followed it up with consecutive 29th-place finishes at Las Vegas and Talladega but failed to finish both events, and finished the year 72nd overall.[36] She returned to ARCA in the same year and drove in the season's first two races. Robinson failed to finish at Daytona due to an engine failure and took an 11th place finish at Atlanta.[37]

Midway through 2004, she entered one race in the Busch Series (the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway) for Stanton Barrett Motorsports in its No. 91 Pontiac but failed to qualify.[38] 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 and refused to be labelled as either a "start and park" or a "gimmick" driver because of her gender.[21] She dealt with successive crew chiefs and team owners who collaborated against her to give her poor results, and was labelled as "emotionally unstable" when she attempted to stop sexism towards her.[2] Robinson is one of 16 women to have participated in the NASCAR Cup Series, and one of three to have driven in the series' premier event, the Daytona 500.[39]

Post-racing career

Robinson focussed on her family full-time, and continued to concentrate on her interior design business where many of her clients came from the NASCAR community. She also started a company called Happy Chairs where she creates her own furniture and redesigns old chairs.[21] She applied to participate for the CBS reality competition show The Amazing Race 16 with NASCAR Truck Series driver Jennifer Jo Cobb as her "Race" teammate but both were cut from the programme. Robinson was invited to donate memorabilia to the NASCAR Hall of Fame but did not send anything due to her commitment of auditioning for The Amazing Race 16.[2] She was involved with the planning and decorating for the marriage of Kelley Earnhardt Miller in 2011.[21]

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 which caused 18 lymph nodes and a lump in her breast to be removed, and was cared for by her mother-in-law for seven months. Her friends ran her businesses on her behalf, and Earnhardt Miller along with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., ran fundraising events to help Robinson pay her medical bills.[39]

Legacy

Robinson has been described as "a competent racer" by fellow drivers.[40][41] She told Sports Illustrated for Women in 2002: "I'm an athlete. I've always wanted to compete, and I want to 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."[1] In an interview with USA Weekend in the same year, Robinson stated that her success was down to an in intensive training regime which allowed her to keep her focus.[19] Robinson noted in 1993 that individuals searched more for her weaknesses rather than strengths, and that there was more pressure placed upon her due to her gender. She stated that she did not try to overpower her male rivals and her career was not "a crusade for feminism".[41] Although Robinson holds a number of "firsts" for women in American motorsports, she said that they do not hold a large significance for her.[42]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

Daytona 500 results
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1995 Colburn Racing Ford DNQ
2002 BAM Racing Dodge 36 24

Busch Series

Craftsman Truck Series

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. As of 2016, the result is jointly held by Erin Crocker.[12]
  2. Kevin Lepage, Stuart Kirby, Ron Hornaday Jr., Stacy Compton, and Derrike Cope drove Robinson's car throughout 2002.[33]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Shurgin, Ann H. (2004). "Robinson, Shawna". encycopedia.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Connell, Sean (July 2010). "Shawna Robinson - One of the first women in NASCAR". Uptown: 40–45. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Bailey, Dean (September 27, 1984). "She Likes Life in the Big Rig Shawna Robinson's "Trade' Is Racing Semi-Tractors". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  4. "Dodge Motorsports' Shawna Robinson quotes". motorsport.com. January 19, 2002. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  5. Jaynes, Roger (September 14, 1984). "Woman driver keeps on truckin'". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 7. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Jordan, Pat (February 20, 1989). "A Little Hugging's Okay, but Race Driver Shawna Robinson Sees Red When You Ask Her to Wear Pink". People 31 (7). Archived from the original on October 21, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  7. "Shawna Robinson Becomes First Woman to Win a NASCAR Race". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 11, 1988. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Lieber, Jill (March 21, 1994). "Shawna Robinson". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  9. "Shawna Robinson – 1991 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  10. McKee, Sandra (February 16, 1992). "Earnhardt wins Goody's, enters Daytona's main event on a roll". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  11. "Shawna Robinson – 1992 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Where Are They Now? Catching Up With Shawna". ARCA Racing. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  13. "Shawna Robinson – 1993 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  14. "Shawna Robinson - 1993 NASCAR Busch North Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 "Shawna Robinson 1994 Results". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive. Archived from the original on December 6, 2004. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  16. "Shawna Robinson - 1994 NASCAR Busch North Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  17. Perrone, Vinnie (February 17, 1995). "Monte Carlo Roars Back in Daytona 125s". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 Betchel, Mark (June 26, 2000). "The Mommy Track After taking a break to have kids, Shawna Robinson is back behind the wheel". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 "Off the beaten mommy track". USA Weekend. May 5, 2002. p. 22 via Newspapers.com .
  20. 1 2 Harris, Mike (February 13, 2000). "Shawna's Shot". Indiana Gazette 96 (171). Associated Press. p. C6. Retrieved May 3, 2016 via Newspapers.com .
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Shawna Robinson: Part 1 - The Last Woman To Start The Daytona 500". SB Nation. February 21, 2012. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  22. "Robinson back on Busch series in preparation for Winston Cup". Amarillo Globe-News. March 30, 2001. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Chat Transcript: Shawna Robinson". NASCAR. March 17, 2001. Archived from the original on April 17, 2001. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  24. Fabrizio, Tony (March 31, 2001). "Robinson stands alone". The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA). p. C5. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  25. "Shawna Robinson - 2001 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  26. "Inext/I Step Not The Ifirst/I Step". Motor Racing Network. April 26, 2001. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  27. Poole, David (March 15, 2001). "Shawna Robinson to enter 6 Cup races". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on April 17, 2001. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  28. Chenglis, Angelique S. (June 7, 2001). "Robinson to give it another go". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  29. 1 2 "Heres To You Ms. Robinson". Motor Racing Network. January 3, 2002. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  30. "Female Race Car Drivers - Racing Divas In Their Stock Cars". Stock Car Racing. February 1, 2002. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  31. 1 2 3 4 Packman, Tim (October 3, 2002). "Insider's View: Shawna Robinson". NASCAR. Archived from the original on October 5, 2002. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  32. Beaton, Rod (February 18, 2002). "Robinson survives crashes, finishes 24th". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  33. "2002 Winston Cup Team/Driver Chart". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on December 21, 2005. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  34. "2002 Raybestos - Rookie of the Year(ROTY) Pages". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  35. "First all-female crew finishes race". The Index-Journal. June 8, 2003. p. 5B. Retrieved May 4, 2016 via Newspapers.com .
  36. "NASCAR Camping World Trucks - Race by Race - Shawna Robinson". Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  37. "Shawna Robinson - 2003 ARCA Re/Man Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  38. "Shawna Robinson - 2004 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  39. 1 2 Williams, Deb (May 6, 2015). "Family, Racing Community Bolstered Shawna Robinson In Cancer Fight". ESPN. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  40. "Robinson hoping to blaze a trail in NASCAR for women". Xenia Daily Gazette 133 (060). Associated Press. November 13, 1999. p. 2B via Newspaperarchive.com. (subscription required (help)).
  41. 1 2 Pearce, Al (February 13, 1993). "Female Driver Says Publicity Mixed Blessing". Daily Press. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  42. Fox, John Jay (July 21, 2000). "This Time She Expects To Finish Better Than 4th Arca Racer Shawna Robinson More Focused On `First' Than 'First Woman' Has Been Fast At Pocono". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, May 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.