Shawna Robinson returned to her auto racing roots Saturday during an Iowa State Fair special held at the half-mile oval track at the fairgrounds. The Des Moines native came to compete last summer, but her transmission locked during a heat race. Saturday she again left her world of asphalt behind for a chance to circle her former dirt track. And there was lots of dirt – and dust – during the annual daytime races. “Let me just say that I couldn’t see anything,” Robinson said. The former Saydel High School student finished 20th out of 25 cars in the “A” feature for stock cars, which turned into a dust bowl. She qualified for the “B” feature through a heat, but was given a promoter’s provisional to start at the back of the “A” feature. “I feel like I need to get used to it,” she said before her feature. “I’m a little nervous, but it’s all in fun.” She rarely drives on dirt tracks anymore. Robinson, 38, was the first woman in more than a decade to start a NASCAR Winston Cup race when she did so in 2001. She became the first woman in more than two decades to start the Daytona 500 in 2002. “Last year it was amazing how many people looked at me as being a big-time racer because I drove Winston Cup,” she said. “I never looked at it that way.” Robinson drove John Hunnell’s No. 62 stock car Saturday. The two attended the same high school. “Last week I drove this car and won,” Hunnell said. “We’ll see how she does.” As the afternoon went on and the track dried, visibility reduced dramatically. A thick cloud of dust hovered around the track surface. Steve Jackson, defending track champion from Des Moines, won the stock car feature. He took over the first position midway through the 15-lap race. Jackson, who also races in Boone, said it was nice to say he raced against a NASCAR driver. But since Robinson rarely competes on dirt, Jackson said he doesn’t think he defeated her under fair circumstances. “Put us in one of her cars on asphalt, with her in front, then see what happens,” Jackson said. Robinson, who now lives in Charlotte, N.C., competed in an ARCA race earlier this season and in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in June for Aaron’s Dream Team at Texas Motor Speedway, which had an all-female pit crew. She’ll race with Aaron’s Dream Team twice more – in September and October. “Next year I want to get in a Busch car and earn my way to Winston Cup,” Robinson said.( Des Moines Register )(8-10-2003)
