Robinson getting her best shot in ARCA comeback
by Mike Harris, Associated Press DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- When Shawna Robinson quit racing, she
walked away from her first love without looking back -- for a while.
During her time away from the sport, she had two children and got a home decorating business off the ground.
"There was a point when I was pregnant when I said, 'I'll just be normal,"' she said. "But I've never been normal."
Shawna Robinson's full-time sponsor, "Kids Race Against Drugs" is one she believes in as a mother of two.
Perhaps that's why the 35-year-old Robinson is returning to racing full time. She'll be behind the wheel Sunday in the ARCA Pro2Call 200 at Daytona International Speedway after qualifying 11th for the season-opening race on Thursday.
Racing was never really that far from her thoughts in the last
four years.
For one thing, husband Jeff Clark is a stock car engine builder, so the dinner-table and bedtime conversation often concerned racing.
And people kept asking Shawna, who began racing at 18, if she missed being behind the wheel.
"I was so busy, but yes, I missed it -- every day," she said.
Before she took her sabbatical to start her family, Robinson raced trucks and stock cars. She showed potential, as a runner-up in the Busch Series rookie of the year race in 1992 and as the only woman to win a Busch Series pole, in 1994 in Atlanta.
But she was almost forgotten until a year ago when car owner James Finch gave her the opportunity to get back in a race car in Daytona. Robinson took full advantage, finishing second in the ARCA race -- the best finish by a woman in that series.
Two more ARCA drives, including a fourth-place finish in Charlotte while driving a car owned by Winston Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield, made it clear to Robinson that she was ready to race again.
She got the support of Michael Kranefuss, who co-owns the Kranefuss-Mayfield ARCA team for which she will drive.
“
I was so busy, but
yes, I missed (racing) -- every day. ”
— Shawna Robinson
"Jeff Clark and I ride motorcycles together and we had talked about putting something together for Shawna," said Kranefuss, who also owns a Winston Cup team that fields Fords for Mayfield.
"I saw Shawna drive in Daytona. She did some smart things and finished second. I thought that was pretty good for somebody who hadn't been in a car in four years."
Kranefuss said he talked to other drivers who have raced against Robinson and got good feedback. He and Mayfield decided to give her a chance.
"I feel that by giving her the security of doing a whole series, she can win races and maybe a championship," Kranefuss said.
Of course, the pressures on Robinson are a little different from those on Mayfield and some other male race drivers.
"My family made this decision together, but the first question I get asked when people find out I'm racing a full season is, 'Who's going to take care of your kids?'"
Since the children -- Tanner, 3, and Samantha, 2 -- are not yet school age, they will travel with the Robinsons and a friend who will help take care of them.
"You have to make it an adventure," Robinson said. "You can't sit there and be stressed out and think, 'God, what am I doing?' We'll have a motorhome at a lot of the tracks, so that means we'll be together as a family and with a lot of the other racing families a lot of the time.
"When the kids begin school full time, we'll deal with it. Really, it's amazing how much support I'm getting from family and friends. They know I've wanted this in my heart."
Another reason for Robinson's happiness is that the Kranefuss-Mayfield team will be sponsored by Kmart Kids Race Against Drugs.
"I'm a regular mom and I face the same challenge all mothers do," Robinson said. "I'm just glad that I can increase awareness about the program through racing."
The question remains: How far can Shawna Robinson go?
"I have a lot of determination," said Robinson, a slender 5-foot-7. "The size of the driver isn't what it's about. My belief is that it's timing that's most important."
For Robinson, the time is right now.
