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Toni Breidinger may be on the hinge of her best racing opportunity yet. With backing from Toyota and some big rides available for her, what does the future of Toni Bredinger look like?
Toni Breidinger had her most successful racing season in 2023. While she dropped back from full-time to part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, she maximized the opportunity she had. She drove for Venturini Motorsports, one of the best teams in the series, and she slowly got better as the season went along.
After 5 finishes outside of the top-10 to start the season, she rattled off 7 top-10s and 4 top-5s in the final 8 races of the season. The highlight was a 3rd place finish at Kansas Speedway, her career-best. These were the first top-5s she ever got in ARCA.
She also recorded her first career starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for TRICON Garage. Her best finish was 15th at, fittingly, Kansas Speedway in her first career start. It seems she could be starting to turn the corner into being a consistently serviceable and solid driver.
However, her plans turn to 2024. In an interview with Chris Rosvoglu of The Spun, Breidinger had this to say about 2024.
I would definitely like to run more Truck Series and more ARCA Series [In 2024]. We’ll see where it takes me…I’d say the Cup Series is in my five-year plan, but I don’t want to put too much of a timeline on everything. I think it depends on how I’ve done as I try to move up the rankings. I don’t want to move up too fast. I don’t see any point in me rushing into the Xfinity Series if I can’t perform well.
Tony Breidinger
With this in mind, where could Breidinger go in 2024?
Venturini Motorsports
While Joe Gibbs Racing is also an ARCA team that has support from Toyota, there seems to be no reason why Breidinger would leave Venturini. On top of that, Gibbs seems pretty committed to WIlliam Sawalich for the time being. Jesse Love leaving also opens up an interesting possibility for Bredinger.
She could potentially become the number 1 driver at Venturini with Love gone. This could give Breidinger the best opportunity in the ARCA Menards Series she has ever had. At that point, she can truly start competing consistently for wins regularly.
TRICON Garage
Breidinger drove in three races for the team in the Craftsman Truck Series, and she was solid without tearing up equipment. She emphasized that she does not want to jump up too quickly, but she wants to run in the Truck Series in 2024. Again, this is top equipment that Toyota backs heavily.
With the relationship with the team already there, this makes for an ideal landing spot for Breidinger. It seems possible that she could return to the team in 2024, but, likely in a part-time capacity with Corey Heim, Taylor Gray, Tanner Gray, and Dean Thompson all returning in 2024.
Hattori Racing Enterprises
Another part-time Toyota team that Breidinger may find a place at is Hattori Racing Enterprises. This is a race team that won a Championship with Brett Moffitt in 2018, but, they have failed to win a race since 2021. This year, they started fielding a second car part-time for Christopher Bell, Jake Drew, and Sean Hingorani.
Breidinger could get some starts in this ride as well. However, could a full-time effort be possible if the sponsorship works itself out? Breidinger has been adamant that she does not want to be too hasty to jump upwards, but, it may be an interesting opportunity.
Sam Hunt Racing
Breidinger said that she did not want to “Rush” her way into the NASCAR Xfinity Series. However, part-time efforts could be interesting to watch out for. Sam Hunt Racing comes to mind as a place for her to go.
It is a Toyota team that TRICON Garage teammate Corey Heim raced for in 2023 for a few races. If she does race for the team, it would be for a very small amount of races. However, if she races well enough throughout the season in lower series, an opportunity may open up.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Again, this is not very likely given her lack of connection to JGR in ARCA. However, if Toyota is willing to give her the opportunity, this could open up. This would be an opportunity in truly top equipment for Breidinger.
Again, it may not be a very likely scenario given her emphasis on patience in working her way through the ranks. However, would a couple of races for this team be too good of an opportunity to pass up? Some fans even raised the possibility of Breidinger replacing Denny Hamlin for the Clash in the Cup Series for JGR. Could it happen?
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