Hornaday in the #49 at Indy? Shawna Robinson is the only woman driver competing in NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series, and last season she became the first female to finish a race in more than two decades. The question now, however, is: How much longer will she have a job? Although team officials have not confirmed any driver change, Robinson revealed in a phone interview yesterday that she may have taken her last ride in the #49 Dodge Intrepid. Ron Hornaday Jr., who replaced Robinson at two races earlier this season – failing to qualify for one and needing a provisional to make the other – is ticketed to drive BAM Motorsports’ entry in the Aug. 4 race in Indianapolis. Both drivers were at the Brickyard for test sessions last week, but according to Robinson, “Ron was in a car built for Indy; I was testing a car not made for Indy. “I’m extremely frustrated,” she said. “The owners are very good people and they’ve given me a great opportunity, but I just don’t know where I stand with the team at this point.” Starting fresh with the newly formed BAM Motorsports, which is owned by Beth Ann Morgenthau and her husband Tony, Robinson turned in a career-best finish of 24th in the Daytona 500. But in running a limited schedule, the team has been unable to secure primary sponsorship. Robinson noted that “things keep breaking on the cars,” and admitted that she had just discovered on the Internet that BAM recently hired its third crew chief of the season. Because she is under contract with BAM Motorsports through the end of next season, Robinson is going to do what she is asked to do. In the last month, she said, she has been to New York three times trying to secure sponsorship. If she is released, Robinson will pursue a deal to possibly return to the BGN next season.(Philadelphia Inqurier)(7-23-2002)
