Women racers pave new roads to success in NASCAR

Women racers have accounted for a vital part of NASCAR’s rich history. As NASCAR.com celebrates Women in NASCAR this week, check out some of the sport’s biggest female names and the accomplishments they achieved despite the numerous speed bumps they faced.

Danica Patrick

Patrick is the only female to win a pole in NASCAR (2013 Daytona 500 ), and she’s tied for the best finish by a woman in the premier series (sixth) in the modern era.

Patrick also is the first woman to win an IndyCar race (2008’s Indy Japan 300), and she owns the highest finish by a female in the Indianapolis 500 (third in 2009).

Yes, Danica Patrick lives up to the hype that surrounds her popular name.

After racing in IndyCar for seven full seasons, Patrick received a full-time opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2013.

“Tony (Stewart) gave me a job, so I’d say that is a pretty big player in my career,” Patrick said. “Just being a driver that’s gone from IndyCar to NASCAR is something that obviously plays into my career, and (Tony) having done the same thing.

“What you see is what you get with Tony. … So when it came time to think about NASCAR, think about what team I wanted to drive for, I was very fortunate to be able to name my team and have them willing to take me. … I’ve had a great fortune in my career to have good people around me, good sponsors behind me and Tony is absolutely one of them.”

Jennifer Jo Cobb

With 25 years in racing and more than 100 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, Jennifer Jo Cobb continues to break down gender stereotypes as she wears both the driver and owner hats — a resilient soldier in her own journey to success.

After making her NASCAR debut in 2004 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Cobb has used her gender as a motivator. “I, personally, am motivated by the fact that I will have to work a little harder to overcome being different,” she told NASCAR.com. “It makes me feel empowered to accomplish something that nobody expected me to do.”

The Kansas native was also given valuable guidance early in her career when she, admittedly, was struggling.

“(President of Rockingham Speedway) Andy Hillenburg … gave me the best advice on the subject (of women in the sport) that I have ever heard — I am going to get a lot of unfair criticism and it is going to hurt, but I am also going to get a lot of recognition, and I should not feel bad about that.”

Shawna Robinson

Former NASCAR driver Shawna Robinson is a wheelwoman of all trades, with her lengthy — and successful — resume including high honors in all three NASCAR national series as well as ARCA.

Her most fruitful stint was in the now-retired Goody’s Dash Series where she became the first woman to earn the pole position for a race (in 1989). She finished with three wins, 21 top 10s, two Most Popular Driver awards (1988 and 1989) and the Rookie of the Year title (1988).

In the Busch Series (what is now the XFINITY Series), Robinson was the first female to win a pole (Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1994).

And in 2003 during the Truck Series’ O’Reilly 400K at Texas Motor Speedway, Robinson had the first all-female pit crew to compete in a NASCAR event. The group penned itself “The Aaron’s Dream Team” and finished the day inside the top 20.