KANSAS CITY, Kan.— Toni Breidinger achieved another motorsports milestone with a career-best third-place result in the ARCA Menards Series on Friday at Kansas Speedway.
The day did not start off as planned—and a 12th-place qualifying effort added to Breidinger’s obstacles in the Sioux Chief Fast Track 150.
But the driver of the No. 55 Venturini Motorsports Toyota remained in the hunt—and her effort paid off with her third top five and her sixth top 10 in 11 starts this season.
“I feel like I struggled a little bit early on in practice,” Breidinger said. “We kind of had a little issue with the motor, got out a little bit late. I feel I just got a little flustered, a little bit in my head with the car. So kind of have to work through that in practice a little bit. The guys made great changes on the car. (Crew chief) Kevin (Reed, Jr.) did a really great job for qualifying.
“I was a little bit disappointed with myself there. I felt like I really had to rebound. My team put so much work into this car. I really wanted a good finish for them.”
Despite running a partial ARCA schedule this season, the 24-year-old from Hillsborough, California, has made substantial gains. In her 32 previous starts leading up to this year, Breidinger’s best result was eighth. Her average finish over the last starts is 6.16.
On Friday, Breidinger ran a smart race. While only race winner Connor Mosack and second-place Carson Kvapil finished on the lead lap, Breidinger remained patient as attrition eliminated the competition.
“I knew I just needed to keep at it,” Breidinger said. “You can’t really call yourself out of the race until the checkered flag. So, I try to have that mindset. My team did a great job kind of keeping me motivated. And we were there at the end when it mattered.”
Behind the wheel of Venturini equipment, Breidinger knows she has no excuses. Her teammate Jesse Love currently leads the ARCA points standings. It’s up to her to show she’s competitive.
“I had a really great car,” Breidinger said. “It makes your job easy when you can really just have a lot of faith in your team and the car. Just knowing that they show up one thousand percent every weekend. The only piece left to the puzzle is really yourself.”
Breidinger has shown tremendous poise on and off the track. The Toyota Racing development driver moved to North Carolina, not only to have access to the race team, but also to take advantage of the training tools offered through the Toyota Performance Center in Mooresville.
In May, Breidinger finished 15th in her Craftsman Truck Series debut here at the 1.5-mile track—her first of three starts with TRICON Garage. She continues to search for opportunities to challenge herself.
This week, Breidinger flew to New York City on Wednesday to participate in the Victoria’s Secret World Tour show, which will air on Sept. 26. Victoria’s Secret sponsored two of Breidinger’s truck races earlier this year. After walking the pink carpet, she made a “pit stop” at sponsor Raising Cane’s—where she greeted customers and fans before coming to the track on Friday.
Breidinger hopes to race in ARCA next season to refine her race craft—but she’s not counting out the next tours on the rung. If she continues to perform and post podium finishes as Breidinger did on Friday night, her options will be open.
“This season has been a lot better,” Breidinger said. “I would describe it as progress, especially from last year. I feel like I have improved a lot. I’ve grown a lot as a driver. Overall, I think it’s been a successful season for me.
“The biggest goal going into it was to have a growing year—with a lot of development. I feel like I’ve been achieving that. I want to end the season on a high note, hopefully, maybe a win. That would be really cool. So we’ll see.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
