Toni Breidinger Balances NASCAR Debut and Modeling Breakthrough
Avery Sinclair here, your resident skeptic unwilling to board the hype train without a ticket. Another day, another racecar fairy tale. Spare the fanfare, but Toni Breidinger just managed to join NASCAR and Sports Illustrated in the same week.
26-year-old Toni Breidinger is halfway through her rookie season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series while squeezing in modeling gigs from LA to New York. In an exclusive interview with E! News, she admitted that keeping her helmet strapped on and her heels polished feels less like a glam tour and more like a juggling act on wheels.
Race week means checkered flags and engine roars, while the week before was all about press lines in Los Angeles and photo shoots in Manhattan. Breidinger confessed to giving herself “grace with my schedule,” acknowledging that one week she’s lost in practice laps and the next she’s signing autographs under bright studio lights.
Breaking even more molds, she’s the first woman to complete two NASCAR races in one day and owns the most top 10 finishes in the 2024 ARCA Menards Series. Toss in her debut as the first NASCAR driver featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, and you have a résumé that reads like a Hollywood audition.
Her advice for aspiring boundary breakers? Don’t let comparison kill your vibe. “My path was not traditional at all,” she said. “It doesn’t mean it’s wrong just because you haven’t seen someone fit that mold before. Do your thing and embrace your journey.” That nugget of wisdom sounds neat on paper when you’re also trying to figure out how to squeeze in a skincare ritual between pit stops.
Speaking of self-care, Breidinger insists that even five minutes of facial masks or a quick meditation session keeps the burnout beast at bay. It’s a far cry from the days when her biggest unwind was a sugar rush in a victory lap. Now every moment off track doubles as a chance to recharge.
One of her favorite pit stops away from motorsports comes courtesy of Dave & Buster’s. As a kid in the Bay Area, she and her twin sister Annie would demolish arcade tokens after karting weekends. When the chance arose to partner with the restaurant-arcade hybrid, she said yes without consulting her stopwatch.
Family is the fuel behind her pedal-to-the-metal dreams. Early morning kart races with her dad and sister set the stage for weekends spent chasing trophies and rainbow-lit skeeball machines. For Breidinger, those childhood road trips were less about the destination and more about bonding over speed.
At this point, you might be wondering if she ever sleeps. The answer is yes, but likely after guilty moments of scrolling through race stats and booking flights for her next modeling gig. And while it sounds like a meteor streaking across the sky, she insists it’s just her normal day-to-day.
Finally, if you were hoping for a dramatic meltdown or a surprise retirement announcement, keep waiting. Toni Breidinger is still strapped in and speeding forward. There you have it – a model on wheels with a full throttle schedule and zero intention of tapping the brakes.
And that is your reality check for the day. You’re welcome.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! News
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
