Audio By Carbonatix
Toni Breidinger may not be the most veteran driver on the NASCAR circuit but her brand is already far bigger than the majority of her competition. In fact, I cannot find one single driver on any level of racing (Cup Series, XFINITY, etc.) with a larger following on social media.
It pays to be the queen!!
Breidinger, a rookie on the NASCAR Truck Series, boasts more than 4.5 million followers on TikTok and Instagram. She goes head-to-head with some of the biggest names in her sport on a weekly basis. She also works closely with Kendall Jenner and 818 Tequila, modeled for Victoria Secret, and recently made her debut in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. All before her 26th birthday. No big deal!
I spoke with Toni Breidinger prior to the Rackley Roofing 200 at the Nashville Speedway. We discussed a wide variety of topics but I was most curious to hear about the balance between modeling, driving and the professional obligations for each of her two very different (yet surprisingly symbiotic) careers.
Although Breidinger would prefer to spend every waking moment on the track behind the wheel, business is business. And in that regard, media — not just social media — is just as big a part of the equation as the driving.
“People see a 15-second video, they don’t see the hours it took to get to that video,” she said. “And let’s be honest, do I wanna be making a TikTok right before I go out to race? No, that’s the worst timing. I just know it has to get done and I know I need that part of my brand. So yeah, it’s funny. It’s an obligation that I have and luckily that’s fine with me because I do enjoy making the content!”
Interviews (like our BroBible-exclusive Q&A from Nashville) may not always be the most fun or glamorous but they are what allow her to do what she does!
“It’s hard for some people in the sport, and then also people outside the sport looking in— people don’t always comprehend why I’m doing appearances and events and interviews,” Breidinger said. “I’m like, ‘No, I literally wouldn’t be racing without doing all those things.’ You owe it to your partners to do those. You’re trying to build your brand. This sport is expensive to be in it.”
People love to tell Toni Breidinger to only focus on racing. Unlike many of her competitors, she cannot.
“I would not be at the track if I wasn’t doing these extra things but some drivers don’t have to do as much off the track,” she said. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘dang, I’m kind of jealous they can just fully focus on the racing side.’ But I get so many cool opportunities and I feel like I’m able to be a more well rounded brand in person because of it, so there’s positives and negatives, but it is a lot to balance.”
Fortunately, Breidinger told me she loves the grind!
Her calendar stays booked.
Even beyond the on-track obligations, Toni Breidinger stays forever busy. One day it’s off to Los Angeles. The next day she’s off to Miami for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit launch party with Olivia Dunne, Suni Lee, Xandra and Eileen Gu. Then she’s right back on a plane to get to her next race in less than 18 hours.
As fun as it sounds to travel all over the world to different parties and “high society” events, it does not always come easy. Breidinger has to work really hard on mental fortitude.
“You have to be a light switch no matter who you are,” she said. “Your brain has to work like a switch.”
Her primary focus as a rookie on the NASCAR circuit is to live in the moment and focus on what she can control in the here and now. Everything else will fall into place as it is supposed to. One thing at a time.
“I have a mental coach that I work with, and we work a lot on being present,” Breidinger said. “Because I am doing so much stuff, I am always thinking about the next thing. I have people talking to me about next week’s announcements and next week’s race and all this stuff, and flying out to Los Angeles on Sunday. I’m like, ‘I need to focus on this race and get past this.’“
The internal light switch does not get flipped until she is in the truck just minutes (if not seconds) before the green flag. And then it’s time for the Jekyll to her Hyde.
“Even up until the green flag, fans and sponsors will come up to me to take photos,” Breidinger said. “It’s hard to transition from that mindset of, you know, being approachable for people and taking photos with people and then hopping in the truck and getting ready to fight, basically. And then when I’m in the truck, I have a totally different mindset. I’m not a nice, bubbly person when I’m behind the wheel.”
One thing that has been helpful to Breidinger throughout this meteoric rise is the ability to lean on other women who are in a similar position. Like Dunne, for example.
“I tend to gravitate toward the female athletes and other sports people when I go to events that aren’t racing related or sports related,” she said. “We have that common ground.”
Unfortunately, as a female in a male-dominated sport, Breidinger receives a lot of nasty comments on social media. The 25-year-old had to stop reading her comments as often over the last 12 months or so because they reached a fever pitch. Being able to connect with other like-minded athletes and celebrities serves as a good reminder of the underlying reality.
“I do see the comments that other female athletes get and I feel less alone when I read them. And I hate to see that they’re getting those comments,” she said. “And if you click on [the commenters’] profiles, it is usually a good reminder that we shouldn’t care what those people think. We all go through it and it’s people who don’t truly know us, who don’t truly follow our journey. They’re just writing a comment to write it.”
You hear that, haters?? Nobody cares!!
Making time to be normal helps Toni Breidinger to stay sane.
With such a busy schedule, Toni Breidinger has to create time for normal things like… sleep. That sometimes comes at the expense at what she was supposed to do that day!
“Sometimes I have to think ‘okay, am I better off sacrificing a workout to get a little bit more sleep?’ It’s tricky finding out what that balance is,” she said. “I’m still figuring it out to this day. Balance is different every week. It’s always changing.”
When Breidinger does finally get a night off, it usually involves her best friends and a bottle of 818 Tequila. Her team reached out to Kendall Jenner (through her people) at the beginning of the NASCAR season to see if they would be down to partner up in 2025.
“Working with 818 is that moment of looking around and thinking, ‘oh this is sick,'” Breidinger said with a genuine smile. “I’m working with a brand I love and the fact that they want to uplift me and support me is pretty surreal. I love Kendall Jenner so it’s super cool that she wants to be part of my journey and believes in me. That’s really special and I don’t take it for granted.”
Their ethos is a perfect match!
And her truck looks pretty sweet with the 818 wrap, which finally made its debut in Music City!
Believe it or not, when all of the craziness comes to an end, going for a drive is what helps Breidinger to calm down after a long day at the track. She finds her solitude on a backroad with nobody around.
“I stay up for an absurd amount of time after races for no reason,” she laughed. “Sometimes, I’ll just go for drives after the race with nowhere to go. I mean, the race day is busy and chaotic so it’s nice to have my own time to think and process. I love to be alone after a race.”
If Breidinger is lucky, she will get to stick around at the track throughout the weekend to watch the Xfinity race and/or the Cup race. Otherwise, it is off to the next adventure! The chaos picks right back up where it left off with barely enough time to sleep.