How did Toni Breidinger start racing? Tracking the NASCAR sensation's journey

Victoria's Secret model-turned racer Toni Breidinger is set to make her full-time Truck Series debut in 2025. Having competed in the 2024 Daytona Truck race with TRICON Garage, Breidinger will drive for the same team, piloting the No. 5 Toyota.

As Breidinger prepares for her Truck Series move in the 2025 season, we take a look at the Arab-American driver's racing journey. In this article, we will explore the origin of the NASCAR star's racing career.

Toni Breidinger’s racing roots trace back to Sonoma Raceway, where she and her twin sister, Annie, first competed in go-karts. While Annie pursued a career in STEM, Toni’s continued racing. Her talent soon translated into 19 United States Auto Club (USAC) wins.

In 2017, Breidinger stepped up to Late Model races in California, where she teamed up with Hailie Deegan. The latter was a driver in the Xfinity Series in 2024, but was released from her contract with AM Racing midway through the season.

In 2019, she was named a top-50 finalist for the inaugural W Series, a racing series exclusively for women. However, she didn’t make the final cut.

Breidinger's NASCAR journey caught fire after she was called by Venturini Motorsports to run a part-time schedule for them in the ARCA Series in 2018. Breidinger returned to ARCA in 2021 on a part-time schedule for Young's Motorsports, before returning to Venturini that same season. She finished fourth in the championship standings that year, making her the highest-performing female driver in ARCA history.

Her NASCAR debut came in 2023 at Kansas Speedway, where she delivered an impressive 15th-place finish in the Truck Series, the best-ever debut performance by a female driver. That eventually helped her sign a deal with TRICON.

She’s also a graduate of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, and has serious backing from sponsors like Raising Cane’s, CELSIUS, and Sunoco. She also has support from Toyota Racing Development as one of its drivers.

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How does Toni Breidinger plan on balancing her modeling and racing career?

In addition to her racing career, Toni Breidinger has carved out a thriving modeling career. As she now prepares for a major move in her racing career, Breidinger recently shared her plans of managing the demands of both her racing and modeling careers.

In an interview with Forbes recently, Breidinger said:

"I almost have to just to be able to switch those mindsets so fast, which I feel like I just naturally am able to do for the most part. But it's tricky. Like almost thinking I try not to."

She added:

"I try not to think too much about like, what I have going on in my head because. If I'm like present and I just, embrace everything and kind of switch those mindsets in the moment, I feel like it can balance it out pretty well."

Toni Breidinger is represented by IMG Models and has appeared in campaigns for major brands like Victoria’s Secret, GAP, and Sports Illustrated. She has amassed over five million followers on Instagram and TikTok.