“I am very hard on myself”: Toni Breidinger gets candid about the ‘weight on her shoulder’ as a female driver in NASCAR

NASCAR: Truck Series - Qualifying - Source: Imagn
Toni Breidinger opened up about the pressure as a female driver in NASCAR - Source: Imagn

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Toni Breidinger was recently featured in an interview with Shannon Spake on her podcast SpakeUp ahead of the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics. During the podcast, Breidinger opened up about being a female in a male-dominated sport.

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The 25-year-old became the first Arab-American female with Lebanese and German roots to drive in NASCAR. Breidinger found her passion for high-speed racing when she was nine. She began her racing journey by racing go-karts with her father and spent five years in the ARCA Menards Series.

Being one of the few female drivers in NASCAR, Toni Breidinger claimed to 'feel a lot of weight' on her shoulders. She pointed out that people blame her if things go south. She further explained (via X):

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"I definitely feel a lot of weight on my shoulders. Yeah, it's tough. I mean, the sport is hard. I feel like, you know, when things go wrong, everyone's kind of pointing at you, looking at you, and I'm also very self-aware. I tend to, like, I'm like, "Okay, I understand if this was my fault." But also, you think I tend to blame myself; even if I was in a wreck, I'm like, "Well, if I was, I had in this position, I would have been wrecked." [00:39 onwards]
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"So I do feel like I am very hard on myself. So yeah, I know I understand that I mean it's a very frustrating sport. And you know, a lot of people ask me to say, like, "Oh, how's it going, the transition from Arca to trucks?" And, I'm like, "It's challenging, it's hard, it's a learning curve." And, you know, I would say, "Trust the process," but in terms of process, it's hard to trust, so it's, yeah, you just have to have that kind of fight, and that fire in you to keep going."
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After competing part-time for Tricon Garages, Toni Breidinger landed her full-time seat with the team this season. After parking her #5 Toyota in P24 at Darlington Raceway, she is set to compete in the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 11, 2025.


When Toni Breidinger got candid about her “biggest bucket list” racing goal

Earlier this year, in April 2025, Victoria's Secret model Toni Breidinger opened up about her racing 'bucket list.' She held a Q&A session on her X account and made her biggest revelation.

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Reflecting on her NASCAR Craftsman and ARCA Menards Series career, a fan asked her (via X):

"What is your biggest “Bucket List” race to compete in?"

Following the same, Toni Breidinger had her answer ready for the fan and stated:

"24 hours of Le Mans"

Continuing further, an X user asked the Truck Series driver about her favorite track to race. She had no particular track in her mind, but Breidinger revealed she prefers short tracks. While another asked her about her racing experience at Rockingham Speedway. The #5 Toyota driver stated:

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"It was a tough track. I learned a ton. was cool to see them bring it back I’d like another go at it."

Toni Breidinger had a challenging qualifying session and began the Black's Tire 200 from P27. She had a best lap time of 23 seconds and a top speed of 147.12 mph.

Later in the main event, she made improvements and finished the race in P18. Meanwhile, Tyler Ankrum won the race with a 6.657-second margin over Jake Garcia.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua
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