Building the Brand: Toni Breidinger’s Drive Beyond the Track
In motorsport, talent alone isn’t enough. You need backing. Big backing. And Toni Breidinger gets it.
For aspiring racers dreaming of Formula One, the financial pressures of junior categories are all too familiar, where even a seat in F4 or FRECA can cost a family hundreds of thousands per season. But for those starting in karting, the struggle begins even earlier. $10,000 gets you just the basics—without factoring in safety gear, travel, maintenance, or race-day expenses. The further up the ladder, the steeper the climb.
It’s no wonder young drivers, especially women, are building brands before they build lap records. Visibility brings sponsors. Sponsors keep you racing. Welcome to the new era of motorsport, where talent and image go hand in hand. And few understand this better than Toni Breidinger.
The first Arab-American woman to compete in a NASCAR national series, Toni is a rising star in her third season and a growing presence in the high-fashion world. Toni is redefining what it means to live in the fast lane, both on and off the track. In 2025, she locked in a full-time seat with Tricon Garage, a team aligned with Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR), competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. NASCAR Trucks? You heard right. It’s a long way from karting, but she’s still chasing apexes - just at 290 kilometres (180 miles) per hour in a 600-horsepower Toyota Tundra. Think of it as her version of an F2 car: powerful, unforgiving, and career-defining.
Across a 25-race season, she’s racing on iconic circuits like Daytona, Charlotte, and COTA—the latter being a rare crossover between NASCAR and Formula One calendars.
Where Dream & Strategy Collide
Born in California to Lebanese and Arab parents, Toni grew up wanting to be two things: a race car driver and a model. Now she’s both - the two passions racing side by side. Her modelling career isn’t just a passion, nor is it a coincidence; it’s a strategy.
Like the drivers in F1 Academy, she knows that visibility sells, and in a male-dominated sport, standing out is often the fastest line forward. Bianca Bustamante, a former McLaren development driver in F1 Academy and current driver in the 2025 GB3 Championship, echoes that reality.
In 2024, both Bianca and Toni were ranked among the top 10 motorsports drivers in Sports Pro’s “50 Most Marketable Athletes” in 2024, a list that included some familiar F1 names like Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Toni placed above Oliver Bearman, who had just made his surprise F1 debut with Ferrari in Saudi Arabia. Bianca’s cover shoot for Vogue Philippines in papaya-hued Louis Vuitton was a signal: the new wave of female racers isn’t choosing between sport and style, they’re owning both. And using both to move up the ladder.
Toni calls modelling her “leverage”. With 2.5 million Instagram followers and the backing of IMG Models, it’s proving to be a powerful one. It’s more than branding—it’s survival. In a sport where pay drivers still dominate junior categories, she’s flipping the script.
Racing in Style
In 2022, Toni starred in a Victoria’s Secret campaign—an unexpected but powerful cultural moment. For a professional race car driver to land that gig wasn’t just rare. It was revolutionary. By 2025, her sponsor roster includes Coach, one of the world’s most recognisable luxury fashion houses. They’re not just sending her handbags, they’re displaying their iconic name with custom branding across her race suit, truck and helmet for two races. A recently completed race in Michigan and an upcoming feature at Talladega in October. The livery? A bold monochrome statement in black and white.
For any athlete, securing a partnership with a well-known brand like Coach is a defining career moment, especially at such an early stage. This marks Coach’s official entry into motorsports. Sound familiar? Formula One has been on a similar journey with brands like Louis Vuitton, Lululemon and Hugo Boss investing in teams and athletes as racing culture collides with streetwear and luxury.
818 Tequila and the Merch Drop Heard Round the Paddock
And then there’s 818 Tequila, the Gen Z favourite founded by Kendall Jenner. In April 2025, the brand announced their partnership with Toni, launching a campaign that came to life on her truck at the Nashville Superspeedway in May, where Breidinger’s truck roared across the track wrapped in the soft desert tones of 818’s brand palette. An ethereal green with a bold 818; a moving billboard for the spirit brand.
Toni dropped a limited-edition merch line for the race; Classic NASCAR vibes, but elevated. However, it left fans begging for more, especially her custom Toyota x 818 leather bomber jacket, which is currently nowhere to be found. For F1 fans frustrated with endless “unisex” team merch that rarely fit women properly, this marketing campaign was proof that motorsport apparel can be cool, inclusive, and fans WANT to be seen in it. And it begs the question: why are we still waiting for F1 teams to catch up?
Twin Flames: Fashion & Motorsports
Bianca and Toni are two women who exist between the seemingly opposite worlds of fashion and motorsport. Industries that, while vastly different, share a common pulse: high speed, relentless performance, and constant scrutiny under the public eye. Where most would struggle to balance even one, they command both lanes with a natural ease. The fearless duality is what has captured the attention of motorsports fans, brands, and media worldwide. For many women-driven brands, the chance to partner with a professional racer is rare. And that rare moment is here.
It’s no surprise brands are vying for space on Toni’s suit, her truck and her timeline. Toni puts it best: “People say you can’t do both. I mean, I immediately think — why not?” A statement backed by her own determination and image. Except it’s more than that – it’s proof. Proof to every young girl with big, seemingly conflicting dreams that you don’t have to choose.
You can do both, and you can do them well.
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