Robin McCall Dallenbach (born January 20, 1964) is a former American

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

racing driver and driving instructor. She was the second woman to compete in the modern era of the

NASCAR Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

in 1982 and was the youngest woman to qualify for an event. McCall is

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

to fellow race car driver Wally Dallenbach Jr. and has three children.

Career

McCall was born and raised in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. She went to

McArthur High School McArthur High School is located in Hollywood, Florida. It serves students from both Hollywood and Pembroke Pines in grades 9 through 12. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district. History Alfred Ryll (former Mayor of ...

. McCall began racing at the age of eight and was influenced by her father Bob, who owned a machine and sheet metal shop. Her grandfather Roy participated in midget events and retired when Bob was in early childhood. McCall's main area of racing was driving in

quarter midgets Quarter midget racing is a form of automobile racing. The cars are approximately one-quarter (1/4) the size of a full-size midget car. The adult-size midget being raced during the start of quarter midget racing used an oval track of one-fifth of a ...

until she was 14, winning several championships. with more than 250 victories on short tracks. She entered the Limited Late Model championship in 1979 and took ten feature race victories, including six trophy dash wins and two heat race victories. McCall won the series' rookie of the year accolade. That same year, she was the first female driver to take part in the Texas Race of Champions held at

Texas World Speedway Texas World Speedway (TWS) was a motorsport venue located in College Station, Texas.The track was one of only eight superspeedways of or greater in the United States used for racing, the others being Indianapolis, Daytona, Pocono, Talladega ...

. In 1981, McCall drove in the Southeastern-based All Pro Late Model Series behind the wheel of a

Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro ...

, and clinched several top-five finishes, along with 10 victories from 16 feature events. McCall began competing in the

(today the Sprint Cup Series) in 1982, driving the No. 5 Jim Stacy Racing Buick.

Jim Stacy James D. Stacy (March 27, 1930October 12, 2016), frequently referred to as Jim Stacy or J.D. Stacy, was an American entrepreneur and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series race car owner whose career spanned 1977 to 1983. His first race as an owner w ...

, a former stock car driver, offered her a test in his car after he saw her compete at

New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt oval racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in ...

and McCall later signed a five-year contract at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...

in February that year. It was planned that she would enter five races in 1982, and Stacy along with co-owner Robert Harrington and McCall's father elected not to enter her in the

Firecracker 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series cir ...

as they felt she needed more experience. In the first race McCall entered (at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

), she failed to qualify after the qualifier was rained out. Three races later, McCall made the field by starting 29th for the

Gabriel 400 The NASCAR Cup Series has held stock car races annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and another in August. The A ...

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track ...

, making her the youngest woman to qualify for a NASCAR Cup Series race at the age of 18. In the race, she retired due to an engine failure. McCall started her second race five events later but crashed out, and failed to qualify for the second race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Afterward, she was affected with financial difficulties and dropped out of the series. She switched to racing on short and dirt tracks in Late Model Stock Cars before she went into road course racing. McCall drove in the

IMSA GT Championship IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada. History The series was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and Bill ...

in 1984, and her finish in the series with a second-place. She was voted the IMSA GT Championship rookie of the year. In 1985, she competed in the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layo ...

. That same year, she married fellow race car driver Wally Dallenbach Jr. having known him for one year. With him, she has three children (Jake, Wyatt, and Kate). She took part in the

One Lap of America The Brock Yates' One Lap of America is an annual motorsports event in the United States that has been held since 1984. It is the successor to the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, an underground auto race of the 1970s. T ...

Rally in 1986 and 1987, and later worked as a pace car driver in the Indy Car World Series between 1995 and 1998. She currently works as a driving instructor for automobile manufacturers in driving events, and co-authored a book ''Portrait of NASCAR.'' McCall also competes in

trap shooting Trap shooting, or trapshooting in North America, is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting, which is shooting shotguns at clay targets. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays. They are disting ...

events and acts as a Precision/Stunt Driver in films and commercials.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. Small number denotes finishing position.)

Winston Cup Series

References

External links