In 1988, Shawna Robinson didn’t just break the glass ceiling, she destroyed the entire building. Robinson was the first female to ever win a NASCAR Touring Series tournament and instantly became a celebrity for it. The talented, award-winning driver first began racing cars when she was just a child. She debuted as a NASCAR driver in 1988 and immediately showed promise with her incredible 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, where she didn’t quite do as well as on her first try. Over time she lost some of her momentum and began shifting her focus towards raising a family instead. However, Shawna eventually got the itch to get back into racing and returned to the sport. She continued in NASCAR until 2005 when she retired for good.
Susie Wolff
Former Scottish race car driver Susie Wolff has driven everything from Formula One cars to Mercedes racing vehicles. She was most active as a go-kart racer in 1997, 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 going up and up, and she joined the Venturi Formula E Team last year, while also becoming a shareholder of the team. In 2013, Wolff was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh for "her role as an ambassador for women in sport." In 2017, She was also honored as a Member of the Order of the British Empire on the 2017 New Year Honours list for services to Women in Sport. She announced her official retirement in late 2015 and gave birth to her first son in 2017.
Mara Reyes
Mara Reyes is not only a female NASCAR driver, but she's also one of their first Latino racers. After finding success in 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 official at the young age of 14.
By 2005, Mara Reyes became the world's first Latin Woman ever to drive in the NASCAR Busch Series. Her latest race also occurred that same year, when she placed eighth in the Mexican NASCAR Series with the TELMEX team. Mara is undoubtedly one of the most talented racers, and we hope that she finds success in whatever ventures she picks up after her racing career.
Robin McCall
Like so many female racers on our list, Robin McCall was primed to become a successful racing driver from a very young age. She began by competing in small races and quickly built a name for herself as a top racing contender. By 1982, she had already joined NASCAR and even got a chance to compete in the Winston Cup Series, making her the youngest woman to ever qualify for the competition.
In 1985, Robin McCall married a fellow racing driver, Wally Dallenbach Jr. They ended up having three children together, which led McCall to transition out of racing slowly, but surely. 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
They say that immigrants have the most motivation and passion to succeed out of any American, Milka Duno is definite proof of that. 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 of these!
During her time studying, Milka Duno was also a mildly successful model. This strange mix of professions created much attention when she decided to officially become a race car driver 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.