Toni Breidinger will be coming back for another full-time season in the 2024 season of the ARCA Menards Series. As the driver of the No. 25 Toyota Camry, with Cayden Lapevich as her crew chief, this race car driver and Victoria’s Secret model is all set to break the barriers for women in the world of NASCAR and motorsports as a whole.
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Arguably, her last season with Venturini Motorsports was the most successful year in her career. Despite having dropped down from a full-time ride to a part-time one, Breidinger capitalized on the opportunity that she had and recorded eight top-5s and eight top-10s. No wonder why Venturini Motorsports is bringing her back in the upcoming season.
“This is a great opportunity for me, and I’m ready to capitalize on the moment,” said the 24-year-old driver. “There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make this all come together, and I’m grateful for the support I’ve had to be able to pursue my dreams. I truly cannot thank my partners enough for believing in not only me, but female athletes. I’m ready to kick off this season with Toyota and VMS at Daytona.”
Even her soon-to-be boss, Bill Venturini, expressed how happy he was to welcome Breidinger to his team for a full-time ride in 2024. “Her growth behind the wheel is as impressive as I’ve seen with any other driver throughout the years; she’s really come into her own. Toni is a great driver to work with and a real asset to our team. I expect good things from her and the team this year,” he added.
Despite revealing her five-year plan, Breidinger doesn’t want to put a timeline on her career
Last year, Breidinger made her first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start for TRICON Garage and recorded her best performance at Kansas; a 15th place finish, which was also the best debut by a female driver in the history of the sport. Therefore, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume that she is planning to race a truck in 2024 as well.
Her ultimate goal is to drive in the Cup Series. But she is in no hurry. In an interview, she said, “I would definitely like to run more Truck Series and more ARCA Series [In 2024]. We’ll see where it takes me…I’d say the Cup Series is in my five-year plan, but I don’t want to put too much of a timeline on everything… I don’t want to move up too fast.” She explained that she doesn’t even want to move to the Xfinity Series before polishing her driving skills enough.
However, if she does compete in the Truck Series, the question is who will it be for? With the relationship that she already has with TRICON Garage, she could perhaps land there. But with drivers like Corey Heim, Taylor Gray, Tanner Gray, and Dean Thompson coming back in 2024, it would most likely be a part-time ride.
