In 1988, Shawna Robinson didn’t just break the glass ceiling, she smashed down the entire house. Robinson was the first female to ever win a NASCAR Touring Series tournament. The win immediately launched her into celebrity status. The talented, award-winning motorist debuted as a NASCAR driver in 1988 and quickly showed promise with her unbelievable performance.
These victories got her awarded the 1988’s “Most Popular Driver” and “Rookie of the Year” awards. She then went up to the Busch Series. Unfortunately, there she didn’t perform as well she hoped where. That proved to be indicative of her coming races as over time she lost some of her momenta. Instead, she began shifting her attention toward raising a family.
Susie Wolff - Formula One Champ
This Scottish race car driver Susie Wolff has driven everything under the sun, including Formula One. As expected, she was most active as a go-kart racer in the late 90s, when she began competing in karting categories (and winning most of them.) Wolff was quite popular from a very young age and was named British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the year, twice.
She made the leap to Formula Renault racing from 2001 to 2004 and graduated to Formula Three in 2005. From there, Susie Wolff’s career kept flying, and last year she joined the Venturi Formula E Team last year, while also becoming a shareholder of the team.
Mara Reyes - NASCAR Xfinity Series Contender
Mara Reyes is not only a female NASCAR driver, but she's also one of their first Latina racers to make it in the big leagues. After succeeding in the NASCAR Mexico Series, she joined the American NASCAR Xfinity Series for one race in 2005. Since then, she has been racing in the Super Copa Telcel with Arris Group sponsorship.
Mara's racing career started when she was just 10 and became officially the youngest competitor at 14. By 2005, Mara Reyes became the world's first Latin Woman ever to drive in the NASCAR Busch Series. Her most recent race also occurred that same year, when she placed eighth in the Mexican NASCAR Series with the TELMEX team.
Robin McCall - Winston Cup Series
Robin McCall, like many, she was primed to become an outstanding racing driver since she was a kid. She began by competing in small races and swiftly built a reputation for herself as a top tier racer. By 1982, she was already in NASCAR and won a shot at competing in the Winston Cup Series, making her the youngest woman to ever qualify for the competition.
In 1985, Robin McCall tied the knot with a fellow racing driver, Wally Dallenbach Jr. They ended up having three children together. Ultimately, raising a family is what led led McCall to slowly, but surely leave racing. McCall has since been working as a driving instructor for auto manufacturers in driving events. The retired NASCAR driver also co-authored a book titled Portrait of NASCAR.
Milka Duno - Highest Finish at 24 Hours of Daytona
Milka Duno is proof of hard work over adversity. She was originally born in Venezuela and became an academic after arriving in the United States. She learned Marine Biology, Naval Architecture, Organizational Development, and Maritime Business, and went on to receive a master’s degree in all these!
During her time studying, Milka Duno was also a mildly successful model. This strange mix of professions her a lot of attention. At some point, for some reason, she decided to pursue race car driving and compete in NASCAR. She currently holds the record for the highest finish by a female driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona. Duno also wrote a Latin-English kid’s book titled "Go, Milka, Go!," which won the Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation Book award in 2009. Wow!