BROOKLYN, Mich. — Long after Shawna Robinson qualified for her first Winston Cup race, she called home to share the news with her young children.
They had just one question: Did that mean she'd be "in the big race with Dale Earnhardt Jr.?"
Yes, kids, mommy's in the big show.
Robinson will get a chance Sunday to race side-by-side with Earnhardt Jr. and the rest of NASCAR's top drivers when she starts 32nd in the Kmart 400. She will be the 15th woman to compete in a Winston Cup event but the first in 12 years.
While the 36-year-old mother of two can appreciate her spot in the history books, her children — who root for Earnhardt Jr. because daddy is an engine tuner on his crew — cannot.
"The only thing in racing they can relate to is Mommy and Dale Jr.," Robinson said with a laugh. "So they're happy, but they want me to keep up with Dale Jr."
That would be a big challenge for Robinson, who is taking small steps toward reaching her goal of full-time Winston Cup racing.
The first step was joining the field at Michigan International Speedway, her first successful bid at making a race in three tries.
"This is just the beginning for me, just the first part of reaching my goal," she said.
Robinson had attempted to make the Daytona 500 in 1995, but on a poorly funded team she didn't stand a chance and never came close to qualifying.
Fast forward seven years — squeezing in her five-year break to have children, start an interior decorating business and knock around other racing series — and Robinson is back chasing her dream.
Car owner Michael Kranefuss, who had just sold his half of Jeremy Mayfield's team, was looking for another driver to run Winston Cup. He picked Robinson and scheduled seven races for her this season with plans to race for Rookie of the Year and a full schedule in 2002.
But the plan got off to a slow start; Robinson broke a gear on her qualifying lap at California Speedway in April and couldn't make the first event on her short schedule.
So she had to wait more than five weeks to try again, and pulled it off Friday by making the field.
The second step of her goal now starts Sunday, when she'll try to make people look past her gender and focus on her skills as a driver.
CASINO MAGIC 500: Scott Sharp won his second straight Casino Magic 500, crossing the finish line under caution after a crash ended an exciting three-car duel for the lead.
Sharp was in a battle with Greg Ray and Eddie Cheever for the lead when the other two competitors were taken out by a crash on the 196th of 200 laps.
Ray was in front when he was bumped as he tried to pass Robby McGehee's lapped car. That sent their two cars into a spin, which caught Cheever and also slammed his car into the wall.
Sharp was able to squeeze away from the accident scene and went on to his sixth career victory, breaking a tie with Ray for the most in the six-year-old series.
CANADIAN GRAND PRIX: Michael Schumacher led qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix Saturday, easily winning his sixth pole at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and sharing the front row with brother Ralf for the second time.
The elder Schumacher, who now has won three straight poles on the 2.747-mile island circuit near downtown Montreal and six of eight this year, raced his Ferrari around the track in 1 minute, 15.782 seconds.
The defending race and Formula One champion posted his fast time on his seventh lap, 27 minutes into the 60-minute session. Schumacher was so secure in his dominance that he spent the rest of the time watching from his garage.
Ralf, who was on the front row with Michael earlier this year in Brazil — the first time siblings have accomplished that feat in F1 history — also posted his quick lap early. He moved to second only 38 minutes into the hour with a lap of 1:16:297 in a Williams BMW.