{"id":31150,"date":"2025-07-23T12:07:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T12:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/31150\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T12:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T12:07:09","slug":"how-toni-breidinger-uses-fashion-as-a-creative-outlet-to-help-her-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/31150\/","title":{"rendered":"How Toni Breidinger uses fashion as a \u201ccreative outlet\u201d to help her race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toni Breidinger knows exactly what assumptions people make about her: that her brand deals and modelling work<\/a> distract from her talents on-track, and she can\u2019t possibly have time to balance it all. Thankfully, it\u2019s a narrative that she\u2019s more than happy to dismantle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people say that doing brand deals affects my performance, I\u2019m like, \u2018No, you know what affects my performance? Not being able to race because I can\u2019t afford it\u2019,\u201d she tells Motorsport.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At 26, Breidinger is not only competing full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series<\/a>, she\u2019s also a dream brand ambassador: game-faced, stylish and uniquely positioned at the swelling intersection of motorsport and American pop culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good thing she is also a self-confessed workaholic, because Coach, Victoria\u2019s Secret, 818 Tequila, Dave & Buster\u2019s and Raising Cane\u2019s are just a few of the big businesses that have come knocking. Motorsport is pay to play, and this is the name of the game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need seat time to get better, and you have to pay for it\u2026\u00a0 it sounds toxic, but I\u2019m okay with working 99% of the time right now,\u201d she explains, seated in the eye of the swirling chaos that is her dual racing and modelling careers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a cycle, and I\u2019m still figuring out how to balance it, but I\u2019m at a critical point in my career so I want to give it 1000% and look back knowing it was worth it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Toni <\/p>\n

Toni Breidinger, TRICON Garage Toyota<\/p>\n

Photo by: David Jensen \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

The economics of racing are punishing, especially for young women who make up a fraction of the talent pool and often have to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously. But what\u2019s long been considered a hurdle for female athletes, Breidinger has spun into opportunity \u2013 not just for herself, but for the brands smart enough to align with her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In refusing to choose between grit and glamour, she\u2019s carved out a space that\u2019s entirely her own and has become a lightning rod for companies eager to tap into the rapidly expanding female sports market.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI like leaning into the female-focused brands and products that I use myself, because they\u2019re often things that my male team-mates don\u2019t use,\u201d she says. \u201cI might as well leverage that and build partnerships with brands that are authentic to me and tap into [the female] demographic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a subtle, but savvy, reimagining of what power looks like in motorsport. While the rest of the grid chases the same pool of sponsors, Breidinger \u2013 the first Arab-American woman to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned event \u2013 gets to play in a much larger sandbox. And judging by her roster of sponsors, no sector is off-limits.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The most recent addition to Breidinger’s lineup, Dave & Buster\u2019s, proves that her appeal extends well beyond the likes of makeup and haircare brands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that all of my deals feel authentic and are really aligned with me,\u201d she says. \u201cDave & Buster\u2019s is a place I grew up going to in the Bay Area with my sister. Whenever we had an off weekend from karting, we\u2019d go play games, so this is a really nostalgic, full-circle moment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Toni <\/p>\n

Toni Breidinger<\/p>\n

Photo by: Ilya S. Savenok \/ Getty Images for Dave and Buster’s<\/p>\n

Her partnership with Raising Cane\u2019s also became a hit with a wide-ranging demographic. \u201cWhen I did my national campaign with Raising Cane\u2019s last year it drew a lot of attention from their fans and kind of blended our fan bases together,\u201d Breidinger adds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has even noticed an uptick in the number of people who started following her NASCAR journey \u2013 particularly young women\u00a0\u2013\u00a0after discovering her through her sponsorships.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always really exciting to meet young girls who say they want to race because of me,\u201d she says. \u201cI want to be able to inspire them to pursue their passions\u2026 especially in NASCAR, which is still very male-dominated.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to delivering strong performances on-track, Breidinger’s key focus is \u201cshowing girls that femininity shouldn\u2019t hold you back from being a race car driver\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She adds: \u201cWhen I was younger, I was insecure about pursuing a career path that was out of the norm, so it\u2019s important to be inclusive and build community to show young girls that you can have other passions and it won\u2019t take away from your sport.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Breidinger says her passion for style and fashion actually helps her perform at her peak.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Toni <\/p>\n

Toni Breidinger, TRICON Garage Toyota<\/p>\n

Photo by: James Gilbert \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a creative outlet and a way for me to express myself. The better I feel, the better I\u2019m going to race,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s all about confidence \u2013\u00a0you want to show up feeling good about yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not only has she tapped into the female-focused, Gen Z market by partnering with brands like Coach (the American luxury fashion house has put its money where its mouth is by supporting female athletes across multiple sports), but her team also pitched Kendall Jenner\u2019s buzzy Tequila brand, 818<\/a>. The result was 818’s first national sports partnership.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKendall wished me luck before the race [in Nashville], which was amazing,\u201d Breidinger says of the supermodel. \u201cShe\u2019s a female in a very male-dominated world and has really been paving the way in the liquor space, so I feel like we align in some ways.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thanks to her relentless work ethic, Breidinger has played a quiet but critical role in the growth of motorsport across America, particularly within the demographics that NASCAR has long struggled to connect with. Still, when the helmet goes on, the brand deals go out the window and the racing is all that matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m at the track, I\u2019m their race car driver,\u201d she says of her team, Tricon Garage<\/a>. \u201cThey\u2019re so professional and don\u2019t ask too many questions. But they respect that I have other jobs, and they see that I\u2019m trying to balance everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the chaos of back-to-back flights from New York Fashion Week to the Daytona International Speedway<\/a>, Breidinger is steady.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it one step at a time,\u201d she says. \u201cMy perfect five-year plan would be to get to the Cup Series.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She knows that \u201ca lot of factors would need to align\u201d to move up through NASCAR\u2019s ranks, but it\u2019s not an impossible goal. And if her track record is any indication of where she\u2019s headed, then Breidinger is just getting started.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this article<\/p>\n

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