From aiming for her best finish to nursing her wounds, Toni Breidinger had a 180-degree flip in fortune. NASCAR has landed at Watkins Glen International for the weekend, and things are already going haywire. Although Corey Heim dominated and won the Mission 176 race, his victory was hardly the highlight. Multiple wrecks marred the latter part of the race, as mechanical issues plagued drivers. One of them was Breidinger.

The Tricon Garage driver has had a lackluster season so far, with Toni Breidinger’s best finish being 18th at Rockingham Speedway. She was hoping to clinch her third top 20 finish at The Glen. However, her spiraling weekend did not cease its series of unfortunate events.

Toni Breidinger’s day goes up in ‘flames’

Despite her struggles on the racetrack, Toni Breidinger had been able to expand her brand recently. She tapped into the female-focused, Gen Z market by partnering with brands like Coach, an American luxury fashion house that supports female athletes across multiple sports. Her team also pitched Kendall Jenner’s buzzy Tequila brand, 818. The result was 818’s first national sports partnership.

But these snazzy new partnerships incurred a disaster on Friday. Toni Breidinger’s suitcase, carrying her 818 and Coach suits, got stolen, and the Toyota Truck driver posted a public plea on X. “If you happen to see a suitcase or my racing stuff that’s being sold on Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Craigslist, or anywhere else, please send me the link,” she wrote. But things got worse.

Toni Breidinger has yet to receive a response about the whereabouts of her belongings. However, her time in Watkins Glen only got worse after that. Despite the theft, Breidinger could qualify 28th in her No. 5 Toyota Tundra. She was running well, fighting her way up to P17 by Stage 2. But with around 10 laps to go in the Mission 176 race, her engine gave out near turn 7. White smoke trailed her path before her Truck erupted in flames. Breidinger posted a sad message on X: “:( cooked -bbq’d -fried- grilled.”

Nonetheless, Toni Breidinger was hardly the only one to encounter trouble in Watkins Glen. Mechanical issues plagued drivers like two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose steering box broke. Ross Chastain was one of Corey Heim’s biggest rivals early in the race. However, he was forced to have his fuel pump replaced under caution before a second failure put him out. Kaden Honeycutt, driving for Youngs Motorsports, experienced a drivetrain failure.

Clearly, things were far from smooth for not only Toni Breidinger but also her rivals. But she keeps growing even amidst the troubles.

Harnessing all the energy and learning

Toni Breidinger may not be having a great season. However, she keeps breaking stereotypes in a largely male-dominated sport. Being the first Arab-American woman racer in NASCAR, Breidinger keeps inspiring women in motorsports. What is more, she is a workaholic, balancing her racing and modeling careers side-by-side. Although people tend to believe that her modeling stints may be coming in the way of her motorsports journey, Breidinger boldly defies that. “When people say that doing brand deals affects my performance, I’m like, ‘No, you know what affects my performance? Not being able to race because I can’t afford it,” she said recently.

While working to afford her racing ambitions, Toni Breidinger is also learning. She is taking every poor finish, including the recent Watkins Glen blunder, in stride. “I knew the learning curve was going to be steep, and I knew that I had a lot to learn. But I don’t think I realized how much I was going to learn, how much I’m taking away. Like, after every race, I’m like, Wow, I feel like a new driver because I’ve learned so much. So, yeah, almost the unknown of I didn’t know how much new stuff I was going to learn. In so many different areas, from the tracks and the truck and the aero. Yeah, I’ve been learning a lot, and I’m like, I can’t believe I’ve been learning this much. Kind of crazy, but yeah.”

Toni Breidinger is weathering the storms with a steady hand. She needs to put the Watkins Glen misery behind her and look forward to improving constantly.