Toni Breidinger speaks out on bringing femininity to NASCAR

Sahil Kurup Mon, August 3, 2026 at 7:48 PM UTC

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Toni Breidinger has 19 career wins in USAC (Image: Getty)

Toni Breidinger, NASCAR's most-followed driver across social media with more than 5.8 million combined followers, is opening up about how she's found a way to blend her racing career with her identity as a model and brand ambassador.

Breidinger, the first Arab-American woman to compete at NASCAR's top levels, has been racing part-time this season for Rackley W.A.R. in the Craftsman Truck Series after departing Tricon Garage following a difficult full-time rookie campaign in 2025.

Though her on-track schedule has been limited in 2026, she's remained active away from the track, winning a late-model race at historic Hickory Motor Speedway on July 11 before appearing on the red carpet at the ESPYs days later, and starring in a new campaign for Kristin Ess Hair's 12-in-1 leave-in primer product, the "K-Turn." She has admitted that repeated setbacks and sponsorship struggles have been a defining part of her journey.

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Breidinger said the hair care partnership reflects a shift in NASCAR sponsorship, one increasingly embracing female drivers in ways the sport hasn't traditionally seen.

"It's definitely special to get their support. There's this new wave of partners coming in and supporting female drivers. It just makes so much sense," Breidinger told USA Today Sports.

She continued: "I think it's brands that we truly align with and use, like, for me on race day, everyone's asking, 'How does your hair look like that when you're racing in the heat?' And I'm like, it's these products. They're partners that other drivers aren't exactly able to work with in an authentic way."

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Breidinger is blending modeling with NASCAR (Image: Getty)

She described the ability to incorporate her personal style into her racing career as a meaningful evolution. "I've always really loved to tap into my femininity, so it's cool to be able to do that on the racetrack now, just blend my two worlds together, and it's really authentic to me," Breidinger said.

On the Kristin Ess partnership specifically, she said, "I felt like it was very true to me, and I think it aligns with just being true to yourself, empowering yourself and doing what feels authentic to you. Hopefully down the road, I think a Kristin Ess car would look so iconic."

Breidinger has built a distinctive presence in NASCAR's sponsorship landscape, becoming the first driver to bring a luxury fashion house sponsorship into the sport through a partnership with Coach.

She has also appeared in campaigns for Victoria's Secret and Gap, and became the first active NASCAR driver to appear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue last year.

Raised in Hillsborough, California, to a Lebanese mother and German father, Breidinger got her start in go-karts at age 9 before working her way through open-wheel racing and the ARCA Menards Series, where she posted 29 top-10 finishes and finished fourth in points during the 2024 season.

She moved up to a full-time Truck Series schedule with Tricon Garage in 2025, a season she described as a significant learning experience despite modest results, with a best finish of 18th at Rockingham.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”