On Set with Toni Breidinger at The Boca Raton

SI Staff | 17 Hours Ago

Toni Breidinger Athlete Interview /

Toni Breidinger is used to racing at over 180 miles per hour, 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 model teamed up with photographer Ben Horton for her feature in the 2025 issue. In an exclusive interview with SI Swimsuit from her photo shoot set, Breidinger discussed her story and the impact she hopes to leave on the world of racing.

TRANSCRIPT

Hey, it's Tony Breidinger and I'm on set with SI Swim.

I actually remember when I first ever got in a go-kart. It's so vivid: the pedals and the seat. I remember my heart was racing and once I got in the go-kart: immediately hooked. I remember my first time out on the go-kart track, they called me ‘Hot Shoe’ and I thought I was like so good. It gave me such an ego. And then once I started racing, that was very humbling, but then I feel like I caught on like pretty quick, so. 

Also racing is very humbling. You're not competing against like you and like one other person, or it's not like one team versus another team. It's you against 30-plus drivers.

I feel like there's a few misconceptions about racing. I feel like it's kinda niche, especially NASCAR, but I would say the physical aspect of it. When we're in the race car, you can't see how grueling the situation is, and it’s very physical. I think a lot of people kind of relate it to like, ‘Oh, when I'm driving down the highway, it's like racing a car,’ but it's very, very different to that. So I think just kinda like the misconception of like, ‘It's easy to do. It's not very physical.’ Whereas, if you look at like my heart rate during a race, it's like 210, maxed out.

Racing's definitely very male dominated. I feel like growing up I really didn't notice it because I was always racing with my twin sister. So, for me, I always had a female around. I feel like when I was more like fifteen, sixteen and we started, going in different directions and I started like going to races by myself and not with her, I'd be like, ‘Oh, like I'm actually like kind of the only girl here.’ And still then I really never realized it until people mentioned it to me like, ‘Oh, you're the only girl that's done this,’ or, ‘You know, you're the only girl racing today.’

And I’m like, ‘Oh, I honestly didn't notice that.’ I've never really…when I'm at the track, I'm not really thinking like, ‘Oh, like I'm surrounded by guy,’ but I am. I think now that I've kind of grown older, I realize that I actually am doing something that's kind of different and also hopefully paving a path for younger girls.

So in 2023, I was like the highest finishing female in my NASCAR track series debut, which was really cool because it was a moment that I've always dreamed of doing a NASCAR reackrace. I had Victoria's Secret on my car, which was so surreal too, like a dreambrand. So it was such a surreal day, like very just on cloud nine.

And I remember there was so much pressure around it, but I did so much mental preparation before to kind of block that all out. And I remember in the race I was smiling, which doesn't really happen in a race because I'm usually so intense. I remember before like the green flag came out, I was like, ‘Wait, this is so sick. Like I'm here and I'm doing this.’And that was the most present I've ever been in a race and I feel like it reflected in the result. 

So this morning we started off -- Actually, it was like very raining, stormy, so I was kind of nervous. I was like, ‘Are we gonna shoot or not?’ But we got out there and just conquered the wind and all the elements and it was so fun. I feel like we knocked out a bunch of swimsuits. 

I hope when people see my photos, they feel empowered.