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 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 Cup Series 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 Busch Series career came three years later at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Shawna became the first woman to win the pole position in the Busch Series with a then-track-record speed 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 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 were NASCAR drivers and car owners.

Robinson returned to the sport in 2000 driving a Ford for former Cup Series car owner Michael Kranefuss in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, where she finished in the top-10 in points. In 2001, Robinson made her Cup Series debut in a Kranefuss-owned car at Michigan, where she qualified 32nd and finished 34th.

In 2002, Robinson made seven Cup Series 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 Cup standings.