The 21-year-old joined the Young’s Motorsports racing team to race in the 2021 stock car competition ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR’s pickup truck competition, Camping World Truck Series, which starts with the Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida on Saturday.
“I’m honored and excited to be the first, but I don’t want to be the last,” Breidinger, who is of Lebanese descent, told CNN. “I hope I can also pave the way for future female Arab drivers.”
Breidinger is a 19-time winner of the American Auto Club, a record for every female driver, and debuted in the Top 10 at Madison International Speedway in ARCA Menards in 2018.
Breidinger said racing at the Daytona Speedway is “a dream come true.”
“Daytona has always been on my bucket list to race on. Every driver’s dream is to race there one day,” she said. “It’s such a historic track. It’s a step in the right direction to hopefully race the Daytona 500 one day.”
Breidinger hopes to one day reach the NASCAR Cup Series, the best racing series.
“As soon as I got into a go-kart, I really just knew,” said Breidinger. “I’ve always had so much passion for it. I love the game, the adrenaline rush. I’m addicted to it.”
“When the helmet goes on and I’m racing, it’s not about being a female driver anymore. I’m just like anyone else trying to make it to the finish,” she said.
Breidinger drives Young Motorsports’ # 02 Chevrolet SS car for the ARCA Menards race and their # 82 Chevrolet Silverado for the Camping World Truck series.
“We work hard to enhance diversity in the sport and the diverse makeup of our drivers is an important part of that mission,” Brandon Thompson, NASCAR vice president of diversity and inclusion, told CNN. “We want women and people of color to see themselves represented in our competitors because it is those connecting points that will help NASCAR grow and become more diverse.”
The Lucas Oil 200, an 80 lap, 200 mile race, is the first of 20 races in the ARCA Menards Series 2021 schedule.