Shawna Robinson

In the late 1980s and early 1990s Shawna Robinson was more than just a pretty face behind the wheel. Born a racer, Shawna drove anything from snowmobiles to diesel trucks competitively until she began to race in NASCAR sanctioned events.

In 1988 she made her NASCAR debut finishing third in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Florida 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Robinson was the first woman ever to win a NASCAR Touring event when she took home the checkered flag at New Asheville Speedway in 1988, her rookie season.

The same year she won her first race in what is now the Goody's Dash Series, she also captured the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series' Most Popular Driver Award and Rookie of the Year honors. Robinson repeated as the Series' most popular driver in 1989, becoming only the second driver to win the award in consecutive years. NASCAR Winston Cup standout Michael Waltrip is the other, when he accomplished the feat in 1982 and 1983.

In her first two years in NASCAR, Shawna started all 30 races in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series winning three of them and finishing in the top 10 a remarkable 21 times.

In 1991 Shawna moved into NASCAR's Busch Series, Grand National Division. The crown jewel of Robinson's NASCAR Busch Series career came three years later at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Shawna became the first and only woman ever to win the pole position in the NASCAR Busch Series with a track record of 174.330 mph. The weekend wasn't all roses for Robinson though, on the first lap of the race Mike Wallace moved alongside of Robinson's car, making it three abreast in the third turn. Wallace's car disrupted the air around Robinson's causing her to come into contact with Joe Nemechek. Robinson's best finish in a NASCAR Busch Series race was 10th just a little less than a year before her last series race in 1995.

Shawna temporarily retired as a driver with her first pregnancy. While she married and raised a family, she was still involved in NASCAR as an interior decorator in the Charlotte, N.C., area, where many of her clients are NASCAR drivers and car owners.

Robinson returned to the sport in 2000 driving a Ford for former Winston Cup car owner Michael Kranefuss in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, where she finished in the top-10 in points. In 2001

In 2002, Robinson made seven Winston Cup starts. Her best finish was 24th at the Daytona 500 in February. She had four finishes of 40th or worse and finished the year 52nd in the Winston Cup standings.