American retired car racing driver Shawna Robinson, widely recognized as the first woman to win a NASCAR touring series race, is a mother of two children, Samanta and Tanner, whom she shares with her husband, Jeff Clark.
Shawna Robinson married Jeff, a Winston Cup mechanic Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s jackman, at the peak of her racing career in 1995. She soon discovered she was pregnant with her first child and took four years off racing.
At the time, she had an extreme urge to embrace motherhood, so she even declined the opportunity to test at Daytona International Speedway. In this regard, Shawna once said,
I was 30, and I wanted to have children. I didn’t know if racing was meant to be. I knew it was what I wanted to do, but being a mom was also important to me.
In 1996, Shawna Robinson gave birth to a baby boy, Tanner, and a year later, she and her husband welcomed a daughter, Samantha.
Three years later, in 1999, she revived her racing career by pursuing owner James Finch’s offer to allow her to compete in the ARCA Race in Daytona. In her debut race at Daytona International Speedway, the former car racer successfully placed second and became the best woman driver in the championship.
While speaking about her return to sports, Shawna said,
Racing is part of who I am. If I became a different person because I had kids, then the kids were not going to know who I was my whole life before them.
Well, her car racing career lasted until the end of 2005. After her retirement, Shawna Robinson completely focused on her family and the interior-decorating business she started with her husband, Jeff Clark.
Shawna Robinson’s Son, Tanner, Was Diagnosed With Testicular Cancer Six Months Later She Received Her Last Radiation Treatment For Breast Cancer!
As per the information we get, the father-in-law of the former Car racer Shawna Robinson was the first member in her family who passed away battling cancer.
Then after, Shawna battled Stage 3 Breast cancer, for which she underwent radiation treatment. In her healing journey, her mother-in-law became her most significant support.
In September 2015, she had her last radiation treatment and was hoping for good news in the family, but things went just contrary to her expectations.
Six months later, her beloved son, Tanner, was diagnosed with testicular cancer just before he turned 20 years old. The diagnosis happened in the early stage, so his son was able to survive the cancer.
In an exclusive talk with NBC Sports, Shawna said,
We were able to catch it early. Him going to chemo was probably harder. I went through chemo for three years, he went through it for six months because it was such a different type of treatment.
Via NBC Sports
She further stated,
Just to see him go through that and the frailness was really, really tough. But he’s cancer free. When I lost my hair, he shaved his head (to give moral support). Little did he know a few years down the road he’d be losing his hair due to chemo
According to Shawna, life has never been the same after her family’s battle with cancer, but she believes that surviving such an illness is a fortune.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Shawna Robinson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on November 30, 1964. She is currently 59 years old.
- She competed in all three of Nascar’s national touring, Arca, and Charlotte/Daytona Dash series as a race driver.
- She is now a founder of Happy Chair, an interior and events design Company.
