It seems as though teams do not have enough from one tragic tale and want to repeat the same time and again. While the bruises of Danica Patrick’s knockoff are still quite fresh, it looks like history is repeating itself. Recently, TRICON Garage faced a huge backlash after an official announcement was made about female driver recruitment for the 2025 season.

Toni Breidinger will be piloting the No. 5 Toyota full-time for the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series season. This is indeed an amazing opportunity for Toni, who will now be seen as a full-time driver competing to make her grounds stronger than ever. While she has been with Tricon for the last two years, this will mark her first full-time season.

Speaking of her racing career, Breidinger has made 65 starts in the ARCA Menards Series till now and has been able to manage a total of four top-five finishes in 2023. Now that she’s running full-time in NASCAR tier 3, she will also be subjected to backing from sponsors like Raising Cane, Celsius, and Sunoco.

Bob Pockrass took to X to share the news: “Tricon announced Toni Breidinger full time in its No. 5 truck next season.”

After the official announcement from Tricon Garage came in, Toni Breidinger was also seen as quite emotional about her full-time Truck Series role. Adding on to her 15-year-long struggle that has put her where she is today, Toni said, “Racing full-time with TRICON is a dream for me. It’s been a 15-year process to get here, but I’m so excited for this moment and ready to capitalize on it. I wouldn’t have this opportunity if it wasn’t for Toyota, Raising Cane’s, CELSIUS, and Sunoco. I’m beyond grateful to have these partners and team in my corner to take this next step in my career.”

With a known background in the world of the ARCA series, Toni Breidinger is one of the only Arab American women who has made it to the NASCAR world. She made her debut in this domain in the year 2018 with none other than Venturini Motorsports, and her 2024 season was quite good, she ended up scoring 11 top-10 finishes in the 20 starts. The season ended with a fourth-place finish in the final championship standings.

Although she did make quite an impactful debut in the NASCAR Truck Series in May 2023 at the Kansas Speedway, fans have kept their expectations low. Their concern? Fans are not very convinced with the new female star either and even fear that a Hailie Deegan or a Danica Patrick might be in the making.

Could it be the Patrick-Deegan repeat for Toni Breidinger?

Danica Patrick and Hailie Deegan are both quite popular names in the motorsport racing world and while both had made their starts with the Truck Series, it seemed that luck had some other plans. Both Deegan and Patrick shifted to Indycar racing and quit their NASCAR dreams just in a short while. Given that the experience of female drivers not lasting long has been evident multiple times, the worry could be genuine. Citing the same, a fan took to the post and commented, “Oh great. Another Danica, Decker, or Deegan. Here we go again.”

Given that talents like Danica have already not been able to perform in the sophisticated Truck Series, they have left a bitter taste among the fans. Referring to this, a fan mentioned, “ Just what we need. Another Danica knockoff embarrassing herself in a top-tier ride. 4 top 5s in the best equipment in a dead ARCA series. Because the Deegan and Decker experiments went so well, let’s run it back again!”

Female drivers have been consistently known for bringing out multiple cautions; some fans are also worried if that is a feat that will interest Toni Breidinger as well. While Haile Deegan has been the leading proponent with multiple cautions and three DNFs while she was driving for AM Racing in 2024, Danica was also involved in something similar. A fan was seen referring to this caution game and mentioned, “Is there a new award for bringing out the most cautions?”

And while some fans could not help but predict the eerie resemblance in the career trajectory between Toni Breidinger and her seniors like Hailie Deegan and Danica Patrick, others find it unfair on Dean Thompson. As of now, Breidinger will be replacing Thompson for the 2025 season, and given that Thompson was showing improved skills on the track, this decision has sparked negative reactions. A fan took to the post and commented, “How could they do that to Dean Thompson? He was starting to get better in that truck. He finished better than her when she drove the 1 truck.”

As Toni Breidinger prepares to embark on this pivotal chapter of her career, the mixed reactions from fans underscore the challenges she faces or will be facing in proving her mettle on the track. Only time will reveal whether she can rise above the skepticism and carve out her legacy in NASCAR history or will be seen in a similar career trajectory to Danica Patrick or Hailie Deegan.