Toni Breidinger Makes History as NASCAR's First-Ever Female Arab American Driver

Photo Credit: Instagram

Recently, California native Toni Breidinger made history as the first Arab American female driver to compete in a NASCAR national series. Breidinger made her debut at Daytona International Speedway.

"Everyone always loves to be the first," stated Breidinger, who is of Lebanese descent. "I also don't want to be the last."

What started as karting, Breidinger’s love for speed eventually took first-place in her life. "As soon as I got into a go-kart for my first time, I was like I want to be a race car driver.” She added, “I just don’t have the mindset of I want to be the best female driver. Yeah, it’s a cool title. But I want to have the most wins out of anybody. Not just the females.”

Toni Breidinger — On and Off the Track

As a dedicated and talented trailblazer, Breidinger is the winningest female driver in United States Auto Club (USAC) competition with a record 19 victories.

Breidinger who joined the Young's Motorsports racing team will compete in the ARCA Menards Series stock car competition and NASCAR's pickup truck competition.  

“We are thrilled to add Toni Breidinger to our Young’s Motorsports portfolio in 2021,” said Young’s Motorsports team principal Tyler Young. “She is not only motivated but determined to make her season a successful one. We know that she can go to Daytona next week and be competitive and contend to become the first ARCA Menards Series national series female winner.”

Off the track, the famed influencer has accumulated over one million social media followers across several platforms and has partnered with several brands including, Head and Shoulders, Sunny D, Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS, Tory Burch, Sparco and Bell Helmets.

The First Arab American Female NASCAR Driver

When asked about becoming the first Arab American female NASCAR driver, Breidinger stated “It’s been such a big part of my life. I’ve always been proud of it. But also, kind of nervous how people would react just because, you know, going to these short tracks, for the most part, there isn’t too much diversity there. And I’ve heard comments in the past about other diverse people. So, I was kind of apprehensive in a way, how people would take it.”

She further added, “The car doesn’t know gender. The track doesn’t know gender. Once the helmet goes on, everyone is just a driver ready to race.”