TONI BREIDINGER Calls Out NASCAR’s ‘Stagnant’ Progress on Female Drivers

September 3, 2025

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TONI BREIDINGER isn’t mincing words about NASCAR’s glacial pace on diversity. As the sport’s only full-time female driver, she’s calling out the “stagnant” progress that has her standing alone in 2024 after HAILIE DEEGAN dropped to part-time. Her blunt assessment hits different because she expected more from a sport where nearly 40% of fans are women, yet the driver pool remains overwhelmingly male.
The spotlight that comes with being NASCAR’s first Arab-American woman driver brings both inspiration and harassment. BREIDINGER revealed she’s stopped reading social media DMs as much this year due to increased hate messages, highlighting the mental toll of representation. Despite finishing fourth in championship standings with four top-fives and 11 top-10s in 2024, the off-track battles prove just as demanding as on-track competition.
BREIDINGER isn’t just talking—she’s planning action with dreams of funding a foundation to get more girls into karting. She recognizes that go-karts aren’t accessible to everyone due to costs of gear, suits, and helmets, identifying the barriers that keep women out from the ground up. Her vision goes beyond representation to systematic change, but the question remains whether NASCAR will listen or let her remain a beautiful exception.