NASCAR Star Toni Breidinger Is Racing Toward a Future Where Women Lead

The powerhouse athlete posed in Boca Raton, Fla., for the 2025 SI Swimsuit Issue.

Toni Breidinger is used to racing at over 180 mph, but for her SI Swimsuit debut, the 25-year-old slowed down—just long enough to strike a pose on the sands of Boca Raton, Fla. The professional stock car driver and modeling powerhouse teamed up with photographer Ben Horton for her feature in the 2025 issue, which hits stands today.

As the first Arab-American woman to compete in any NASCAR national series event, Breidinger has long been shattering expectations in the male-dominated world of motor sports. But it wasn’t always about the spotlight.

“I actually remember when I first ever got in a go-kart—it’s so vivid—the pedals, the seat. I remember my heart was racing. Once I got in the go-kart, [I was] immediately hooked,” she recalls while on set with SI Swimsuit. The Northern California native’s journey began at age 9 at Sonoma Raceway, and since then, she’s earned 27 top-10 finishes, a podium finish in the ARCA Menards Series and a record-breaking fourth-place finish in the 2024 season standings.

View Toni Breidinger’s full 2025 SI Swimsuit gallery here.

Her photo shoot on the breathtaking Boca Raton resort property was a stark contrast to the roaring engines she’s used to—but the conditions were no less intense. “This morning we started off, actually, it was very rainy, stormy,” Breidinger recalls. “But we got out there and just conquered the wind and all the elements, and it was so fun.” She hopes her images send a message, and she says “empowered” is exactly how she wants other women to feel when they see them.

For Breidinger, empowerment also comes from visibility. Though she doesn’t consciously dwell on her status as a trailblazer, she knows it matters. “When I’m at the track, I’m not really thinking like, ‘Oh, I’m surrounded by guys’—but I am,” she says. “Now that I’ve kind of grown older, I realize that I’m doing something that’s kind of different.”

That awareness fueled her decision to cohost the International Women’s Day Go-Kart Mentorship Event at Phoenix Kart Racing Association alongside her twin sister, Annie, now a car engineer at Ford Motor Company. The event was a powerful full-circle moment, bringing together 13 young female drivers for a day of mentorship, karting sessions and inspiration—celebrating sisterhood, visibility and the future of women in motor sports.

Toni Breidinger was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus. Swimsuit embroidered by Abbode. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

Racing, Breidinger says, is both physically and mentally grueling. “If you look at my heart rate during a race, it’s like 210, maxed out,” she explains. “It’s crazy physical and also very mentally draining.”

Her 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut marked a major career milestone: She finished 15th at Kansas Speedway, the highest debut finish for a female driver in the history of the series. “It was a moment I’d always dreamed of,” she says. With Victoria’s Secret on her car, the entire day felt special. Though the pressure was intense, she focused on mental preparation to stay grounded.

“Before the green flag came out, I was like, ‘Wait, this is so sick. I’m here and I’m doing this,’” she recalls. “That was the most present I’ve ever been in a race.” For the first time, she even caught herself smiling behind the wheel—“which doesn’t really happen”—a sign, she says, that her mindset paid off. “I feel like it reflected in the results.”

Off the track, Breidinger is just as unstoppable. With major campaigns for Victoria’s Secret, Free People and GAP and a following of over 4.9 million across Instagram and TikTok, she’s built a brand rooted in duality—fast cars and fashion, athletic grit and runway glam. This year, she’s set to compete in NASCAR races wearing a custom green-and-white firesuit designed in partnership with Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila. Now that’s girlboss energy.

“I did so much mental preparation [for that race] to block everything out,” she adds. That same focus now carries her into a new chapter with SI Swimsuit—a moment she calls “very surreal.” As she blazes new trails across industries, one thing’s clear: Breidinger is just getting started.