NASCAR rookie Toni Breidinger comes clean on her “struggles” after a grueling Daytona ordeal

Friday’s Daytona outing resulted in a heartbreak for NASCAR Truck Series driver Toni Breidinger. However, she knew better than to wallow in self-pity.

The 25-year-old speedster expressed her feelings during a post-race interview with journalist Matt Weaver. Recalling her own mistakes, Breidinger said that she still has a lot to learn.

“It was fun...there was a lot that was going on there,” Breidinger said. “Obviously spun early. (The truck) was super, super free, so I wasn’t totally surprised by that. I was struggling for a little bit there.” (0:07)

Breidinger also had a hard time choosing between the top and bottom lanes. At one point during the race, she found herself trapped between the two with nowhere to go.

“I was kind of married to the top at that point because I felt like I was gonna die on the bottom. Probably should have moved down there, but yeah, a lot to learn, obviously. Sped on pit road twice, so didn’t learn my lesson the first time. Something to work on there,” she admitted. (0:19)

As the first Arab-American woman to compete in NASCAR’s national series, Breidinger was creating history as she signed up for the 100-lap event. But her No. 5 Toyota Tundra got caught up in a multi-car wreck, crushing her truck as well as her hopes for glory.

“I kind of saw it coming,” Toni Breidinger explained. "I was trying to keep my space, and then I was like, I’m gonna tighten up the apple a bit, and then everyone wrecked at that point. It was bad timing for that. Honestly, I probably should have moved to the bottom there but I thought I was just gonna bust my a** in the turn.” (00:41)

Such is the nature of racing at Daytona. Nothing is guaranteed here, not even after bagging the checkered flag. Take Parker Kligerman, for example. He thought he had won until NASCAR disqualified him and crowned Corey Heim the winner instead.

Toni Breidinger opens up on her “stacked” NASCAR schedule

Toni Breidinger is no stranger to driving trucks. She made selected starts back in 2023 with her best finish being an impressive P15 at Kansas Speedway. Last year, she competed full time in ARCA, amassing 65 starts with Venturini Motorsports.

However, running a full season in NASCAR’s national series is not easy. For now, Breidinger's biggest challenge is adapting to the tight schedule and racing at new tracks every week.

“I’m gonna go to a good amount of tracks that I haven’t been to before,” Breidinger said (via motorcyclesports.net). “With the schedule being so stacked, you don’t have too much time.”

Her next race is at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 22, which is less than a week from now. Speaking of the same, Breidinger said,

“You have time to prepare, but the next weekend’s a new track, and then a new track. So I think just adapting really fast is gonna be my biggest thing.”

Fans can watch Toni Breidinger in action next Saturday on Fox Sports 1 (1:30 pm ET onwards). Radio updates will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.