Toni Breidinger, the 21-year-old model from Hillsborough, California, made history as NASCAR’s first Arab-American female driver after she debuted at Daytona International Speedway last Saturday. Breidinger, who is of Lebanese descent, currently holds the title for the top female driver in USAC history with 19 victories. She first began racing go-karts with her twin sister, Annie – also a racing driver – in 2009 at Sonoma Raceway before their father finally caved and bought each of them their own go-karts.
In 2019, only ten years after she began racing go-karts with her sister, Breidinger tried out for a new female-drivers only series called W Series. She was named as one of the top 50 finalists before being cut from the program. However, in 2021, she joined with ARCA for a part-time schedule for Young’s Motorsports where she made history in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starting in Daytona.
“I’m honored and excited to be the first, but don’t want to be the last,” Breidinger told CNN. “I hope I can pave the way for future female Arab drivers as well.”
“Daytona has always been on my bucket list to race at. Every driver’s dream is to race there one day,” she added. “It’s such a historic track. It’s a step in the right direction to hopefully race in the Daytona 500 one day.”
Previously, Breidinger has modeled for major brands like Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS, Tory Burch, and more, and has racked up an enormous following on her social channels. However, it does appear that the beautiful and multi-talented athlete may be changing lanes as her racing career is taking off.
