inspired by race car drivers A. J. Foyt, Sammy Swindell, and Steve Kinser in her teenage years, and found inspiration in woman driver Janet Guthrie by her early twenties, as she had more interest in NASCAR than open-wheel racing. She and her siblings were taught that they were allowed to do anything they wished and drove minibikes, motorcycles, and snowmobiles. After graduating from Saydel High School in 1983, Robinson spent the summer deciding on her career path as she worked as a department store cashier. She went with her father to help him promote local races. Robinson persuaded him to let her compete in racing, and started off at Toledo Speedway driving a 1976 International semi-tractor. She participated in a five-lap sprint race where she finished second after leading for four laps, and took third position in the feature event. After this Robinson began racing full-time, and won 30 feature races before moving to the super-speedway division in April 1984; she faced early resentment from her male competitors. In the same year, Robinson moved from Iowa to Pennsylvania. Lefty believed Robinson's presence helped to increase fans' interest. Robinson's father acted as her mentor although her mother was against her racing because she felt she would be hurt in a crash. In the same year, she became the first woman to win a Great American Truck Racing (GATR) Truck Series points-scoring race on a superspeedway when she won the Milwaukee Mile Bobtail 100 at Milwaukee Mile. Robinson was sponsored by her father for the remainder of the season after achieving her first race victory. She was voted the 1984 GATR Rookie of the Year. Robinson went to France to compete in the Paul Ricard Grand Prix Truck Race the following year, and took second in the 1986 Grand Prix of Trucks held in Mexico City. Robinson was victorious in the GATR Big Rig race at Flemington Speedway in 1987. NASCAR and ARCA 1980s Robinson began competing in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series in the spring of 1988. She garnered the attention of the Global Marketing Sports Group owned by Pat Patterson who found her a race seat with car owner David Watson, and drove a Pontiac Sunbird. That same year, she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina because the city is the center for stock car racing. Robinson started the season with a third-place finish in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series Florida 200 at