Athletes

Shawna Robinson has established herself in auto racing by driving the No. 49 BAM Racing Dodge in seven NASCAR Winston Cup Series races in 2002. At the Daytona 500 she started 36th and finished 24th. She also raced in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 in Dallas, Texas, starting 16th and finishing 36th. Robinson was the first female to start (since 1989) and finish (since 1980) a NASCAR Winston Cup race in June of 2001. In 2000, she also was the first woman to finish in the top 10 in points in any national oval-track motor sports series at the ARCA Series. At the Talladega Superspeedway in 2000, Robinson was the winner of the Prestone Highest Finishing Rookie Award. In addition, she took home the Talladega Pole Award at the 2000 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series event at the Michigan Speedway. With this feat, Robinson shattered the track record with a speed of 184.606 miles per hour. In 2000, she received the highest winning rookie honors at the Kll-Kare Speedway in Ohio. Robinson had a fourth-place finish in the 1999 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. That same race she captured the STP-Prestone highest finishing rookie honors as well. Robinson finished second in the 1999 FirstPlus Financial ARCA 200 at Daytona International Speedway. In 1994, she was the first woman in NASCAR history to win a pole position in the NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division, with a track speed record of 174.33 miles per hour. It was in 1988 when she achieved another first time accomplishment in auto racing as she was the first woman to win a NASCAR Touring Series event in its 40-year history. In 1992, she finished runner-up in the Busch Series Rookie of the Year standings after driving a 14-race limited schedule. Robinson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and now raises her two children, Tanner and Samantha. (10/02)