Shawna Robinson

Career

Robinson began her racing career in 1984 in the GATR Truck Series, winning rookie of the year honors in 1984 as well as a race at Flemington Speedway in 1987. She began racing NASCAR in 1988, when she was named Rookie of the Year in the now-defunct Dash Series, and won Most Popular Driver in 1988 and 1989. At the end of her Dash Series career, she had three wins and twenty-one top-tens.

Robinson made her Busch Series debut at Orange County Speedway in 1991, in the #77 Sparky's Famous Hot Dogs Buick, starting 26th and finishing 15th. She ran three more races that year, her best finish coming at Orange County. In 1992, she began the season with Silver Racing, but was released very early on. She came back to drive the #25 Polaroid Oldsmobile, posting two eleventh-place finishes. Despite her abbreviated schedule, she finished runner-up to Ricky Craven for Rookie of the Year honors.

Robinson came back to run 24 races in the #35 for Mike Laughlin in 1993. Her best finish came at Indianapolis Raceway Park, where she finished 12th. She also finished 23rd in points, the highest point standing finish of her career. In 1994, Robinson qualified second at Rockingham Speedway, but finished 36th after a wreck. Two races later, Robinson won her first career pole position at Atlanta Motor Speedway. On the first lap of the race, she went three-wide with Joe Nemechek and Mike Wallace, causing a collision. She would finish 36th in that race due to overheating problems. She also posted her first career top-ten that year at the Fay's 150, but was released after the next race at The Milwaukee Mile. She returned to make an aborted attempt at the 1995 Daytona 500, and also had two top-twenty finishes in the #36 Ford Thunderbird, but retired during the season to start a family.

In 1999, she returned to racing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, after the birth of her son and daughter and moved to the #8 Kmart Ford Taurus for Michael Kranefuss. She set a track record in a pole-winning qualifying run at Michigan International Speedway, and finished sixth in points, the first female to finish in the top-ten in points standings in the series. She also became the first woman in ARCA history to lead a race when she led several laps at Toledo Speedway. Robinson ran three races for Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2001, her best finish being 19th at Talladega Superspeedway, with her other two races ending in wrecks. She and Kranefuss attempted four Winston Cup races in 2001 in the #84 with sponsorship from Aaron's and Tropicana. However, Robinson made just the race at Michigan, where she finished 36th after a late-races spin. After Tropicana pulled out, Robinson signed to drive 24 races for BAM Racing in 2002. After her best finish was a 24th at Daytona, she was released. In 2003, she ran three races for Team Texas in the #49 Aaron's Chevrolet Silverado with an all-female pit crew. Her best finish was 18th at Texas Motor Speedway.

In 2005, Robinson drove in the Busch Series after being out of NASCAR for two years. She piloted the #23 Vassarette Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Keith Coleman Racing, but was released after six races.

Personal life

After Robinson's racing career was over, she became an interior designer. Her interior design work includes Happy Chair which works to redesign old chairs.

Robinson was the fifteenth woman to have competed in NASCAR's top division and the first since Patty Moise in 1989.

In 2014, Robinson was diagnosed with breast cancer.

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