“It’s Really Cool to Be the First, But I Also Don’t Want to Be the Last,” Toni Breidinger Talks Racing, Making History on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”

On Thursday, Toni Breidinger – a competitor in the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series — joined Ellen DeGeneres as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about her upcoming racing season.

The 21-year-old is currently scheduled to compete in both the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Young’s Motorsports, where she will pilot the No. 02 Chevrolet SS – ARCA — and the No. 82 Chevrolet Silverado – NCWTS — on a part-time basis throughout the season.

In her first ARCA Menards Series start of 2021 at Daytona International Speedway on February 13th, Breidinger finished in the 18th position, meeting both of the goals she set for herself when the weekend started: finish the race and place inside the top-20.

“Yeah, it’s definitely exciting,” said Breidinger when asked about racing at Daytona. “It’s really cool to be the first […], but I also don’t want to be the last, I really want to pave the way for others.

“I received so much amazing support and so many messages, I was really surprised by a lot of people saying that I inspired them, which is really amazing. It inspires me to read those messages and it’s been really amazing how supportive everybody has been.”

The Hillsborough, California-native will return to the series in seven more events this season, at: Phoenix Raceway (March 13), Talladega Superspeedway (April 24), Kansas Speedway (May 1), Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 29), Pocono Raceway (June 25), Iowa Speedway (July 24) and Kansas Speedway (September 16).

Later this season, Breidinger will become the first Arab-American female driver to race in NASCAR’s top-three series, when she makes her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut for Young’s Motorsports. However, as a 19-time United States Auto Club (USAC) winner – the most by a female — Breidinger is no stranger to making history in some of racing’s top series.

You can watch the full interview with Toni Breidinger and Ellen DeGeneres here:

Jeff Gordon (2005 and 2011), Michael McDowell (2008), Carl Edwards (2009), Trevor Bayne (2011), Jimmie Johnson (2013 and 2015) and Danica Patrick (2015) have all appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show over the years, with Gordon becoming the first to do so in September 2005.