TONI BREIDINGER Gets Toyota Deal, But Is She Driver or Influencer?

March 17, 2025

by Ayush Aggarwal // from www.essentiallysports.com

GRRL! SUMMARY:

TONI BREIDINGER lands a full-time 2025 NASCAR Truck Series ride with TRICON Garage and Toyota, but here’s the kicker—she’s contracted through Toyota’s marketing department, not their driver development program. With 5 million social media followers and a Victoria’s Secret modeling background, Toyota’s Paul Dosehal openly admits her “large social media following” was a key attraction. Her racing resume isn’t shabby though: 65 ARCA starts, fourth in 2024 points with 11 top-10s, and she holds the record for most top-10s by a woman in ARCA history with 27.
The ghost of women’s NASCAR past haunts this deal, and we can’t ignore the pattern. DANICA PATRICK blazed in with IndyCar credibility but never won a Cup race despite massive hype and 1.8 million Instagram followers. HAILIE DEEGAN followed with 1.3 million followers and Toyota backing, only to get axed mid-2024 from Xfinity after 17 races without a single top-10. Both carried the dreaded “marketing gimmick” label, and now BREIDINGER—with her 2.3 million TikTok fans and SI Swimsuit feature—walks the same tightrope between legitimate talent and manufactured stardom.
Fan reactions are split down the middle, and honestly, we get it. Some see Toyota’s “influencer from a driver standpoint” approach as smart budget strategy—she probably out-earns development drivers thanks to her $600,000 net worth and sponsor appeal from Raising Cane’s, Celsius, and Sunoco. Others just want “actual drivers not influencers” and point to ISABELLA ROBUSTO’s five top-5s in 11 ARCA races as proof that quieter talent exists. BREIDINGER’s 15th-place Truck debut at Kansas showed promise, but her 27th at Daytona suggests the learning curve is real, and the pressure might be getting to her head.