Lady racing sensation and fashionista Toni Breidinger has been in the headlines for all the right reasons. The 24-year-old Lebanese-American made her NASCAR Truck Series debut at the intermediate track at Kansas Speedway and has been making waves in the racing community with a successful ARCA Series campaign. But even she has faced problems finding sponsors.

While she is indeed a force to be reckoned with on the track with four top-5s and seven top-10s out of her 13 race starts, she recently dropped a major revelation, unearthing how strenuous it was for her to claw her way to the top. She detailed the back-breaking work she had to put in to make a name for herself.

ARCA young gun Toni Breidinger divulges her sponsorship struggles despite her fame

She took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Back in 2018, I sent out more than 750 emails seeking sponsorship and received just 7 responses. Every now and then, I still receive random emails from those 750 contacts, either congratulating me or inquiring about potential collaboration.”

Well, contrary to what the cinema or the limelight shows us, it takes years of hard work, dedication, and sheer commitment to rise to the top, especially when you’re the odd one out in a male-dominated sport. This is, essentially, the 24-year-old racer turned model’s career in a nutshell. But why is Breidinger talking about this issue now?

The Victoria’s Secret model felt compelled to respond to Colby Evans, an ARCA crew member’s tweet which highlighted how difficult it was for drivers in the sport. “I really understand stress for drivers looking for sponsorship to keep their careers going I’ve sent over 130 emails in the last week and have gotten 2 responses, and it didn’t lead to anything,” he wrote.

Sponsorship has become an issue in NASCAR for a while. In fact, over the years, some big-name sponsors have left the sport, and this raised a lot of questions about its future. After all, NASCAR has always been associated with sponsorship. It is an iconic aspect. Even a name as big as Stewart Haas Racing has had issues with sponsors.

Because of a lack of on-track performance, the team saw the departure of eight Cup series sponsors at the end of 2023. The names included Busch Light, Gearwrench, Go Bowling, Hunt Brothers Pizza, and several more. No wonder Toni Breidinger struggled a lot before coming up as the most successful female professional race car driver. She also made history as the very first Arab-American female driver in NASCAR.

WATCH THIS STORY: Toni Breidinger a nail-biting revelation amidst the roar of the engines 

“Fan base of Arabs”—Breidinger reveals her motivation, inspiring young Arab girls to take up racing

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As she revealed herself, the road to the top was never an easy one. The hours of work she had to put in, the hundreds, if not thousands, of emails she had to send, and all those sleepless nights with her racing crew, working on her car to tune it to perfection, all contributed to her success. Right now, the 24-year-old is arguably one of the most popular drivers in the promotion, with millions of fans following her religiously.

Despite the harsh reality of the sport, the driver revealed the motivation that drives her to put on the helmet and jump inside the race car. Speaking to Arabnews.com, she said, “I feel I have developed a very solid fan base of Arabs that like to come to races. I’ve seen, like last year, for instance, one race in Phoenix this little girl and her family came just to watch me race.” 

Vividly recalling the fan moment at Phoenix, she said, “It was really cool to see that I am bringing a little bit more of a different fan base which has been really exciting and really awesome for me to experience.” 

The hard work started when she was just 9. Her father sent her to go-kart classes and that’s how she realized her love for racing. “It was my first really big adrenaline rush,” she stated in an interview with ‘Glamour’. Eventually, Breidinger and her sister started racing each other, and the rest is history.

What do you think about Toni Breidinger’s success so far? Let us know in the comments below.

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