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Robin McCall awaits the start of a race standing
by her modified Firebird.
Story and Photos
By BRIAN TATE
Battalion Reporter
The world of auto racing is a world of hot metal and burning rubber;
a sport generally dominated by men. So it comes as a surprise to
hear a driver say that the only bad thing about the sport “is getting
dirty, breaking fingernails and messing up my hair.”
But if her concerns are not necessarily the concerns of her fellow
drivers, 16-year-old Robin McCall seems determined to make her
self a place in the sport of auto racing.
Although younger than most competitors, she is no newcomer to
the racing world. McCall credits her father, Bob, with first getting her
interested in racing.
When she was only 8 years old, McCall said, her father bought a
quarter-midget race car for her older sister, Suzanne. Suzanne soon
lost interest in the car though, and Robin siezed the opportunity and
took over the wheel, much to her father’s delight.
So McCall began her career in a car that weighed less than 150
pounds and averaged only 50 mph.
Later, McCall drove a Pinto in mini-stock car races. She then
became interested in modified stock cars. Under her father’s super
vision, a Pontiac Firebird was converted to a $20,000 race car for
her.
McCall said that the Texas World Speedway in College Station
has been her biggest disappointment as a driver.
In the Texas Race of Champions held there last fall, she was
forced to drop out of the race because of transmission trouble. In the
Texas 100 Stock Car Race last month, she was again plagued by
mechanical problems. After earning the number two starting position
in qualifying races against a field of 43 seasoned drivers, McCall
said, her car suffered from transmission trouble on the first lap. It was
repaired in time for her to start the second half of the race in last
position, but the problem recurred before the race was over.
In addition to suffering from mechanical problems, McCall also
has to deal with problems stemming from the fact that she is usually
the only female driver competing.
“Physical strength is probably the biggest disadvantage a girl has
in stock car racing,” Robin said. While her car was being built, Robin
said she often wondered whether she would be able to handle it well
enough to race.
The car is equipped with power steering and an automatic trans
mission, which the men’s cars don’t have. The car being built for her
to race next year will not have these features, which she said is an
adjustment she will have to make.
Out on the track, Robin said that some drivers will try to intimidate
her by blocking her when she tries to pass, or by cutting her off at
corners. She said that when this happens it is important to not back
down, or else they will continue to challenge her.
McCall’s career as a driver has not been free of accidents. Her
worst wreck came when she hit an oil slick at Hi-Way 16 Speedway
and crashed head-on into the wall. Her car bounced off the wall, she
said, and was narrowly missed by oncoming cars. The fact that she
might be killed in a car wreck does not deter her from racing, McCall
said, because she feels the risk is an inescapable part of her life.
After she graduates from high school in two years, McCall said,
she plans to enter the All-Pro racing circuit and drive in races as far
away as California. But her greatest ambition is to race Indy cars in
five or six years, she said.
In for a quick pit stop, McCall listens to advice from her
father.
DON’T BE IN A HURRY
TO END THE HOLIDAYS
Driving at excessive speeds is one of
the two largest causes of fatal accidents
during the holidays. Keep your family
safe in Christmas traffic. Don’t be in a
hurry to end the holidays on the high
ways.