The season-opener at Daytona didn’t go how Toni Breidinger planned. Since then, she has earned three top-10 finishes in four races. The ARCA Menards Series driver is looking forward to Charlotte where she can show how much she has improved behind the wheel.
During the beginning of the ARCA season, the races are sporadic. If drivers aren’t competing in the East or West divisions, racing is sparse. As the summer approaches, the schedule is going to pick up, something Breidinger is looking forward to.
Reps and consistency matter for drivers. These ARCA competitors are about to really get into the thick of things.
“I feel like there has kind of been big breaks in the schedule. Like, after Daytona it was like a month until Phoenix,” Breidinger said in an interview with 5GOATs. “There’s kind of been awkward breaks in the schedule. So, I’m excited for it to start picking up and I think so far we’ve kind of had some ups and downs but I’m really excited for this weekend. I’m really excited to have Celsius back on the car [for Charlotte].”
As for those early season mishaps, Toni knows that it put her in a hole in terms of points. Still, 41 points out of the lead isn’t the worst spot to be.
“I feel like we’ve had speed everywhere just some bad luck for situations like Daytona and then Dover was kind of just a racing incident that I take accountability for,” the driver said. “We’ve shown good speed everywhere so I think it’s just about really putting the races together, we know that we have the speed to do it and I think just having a clean race start to finish is kind of where the good results will come into play. We came off a pretty good weekend at Flat Rock I think just carrying some of that momentum into this weekend will be good”
That P4 at Flat Rock was a solid showing for Toni Breidinger. It was only an East race, not a national series race, but it was her first top-5 of the ARCA season.
Through five races on the national series schedule only part-time drivers have won. Not a single full-time driver has crossed the line P1. So, the championship race is wide open.
Breidinger and her teammate Amber Balcaen are both top-8 in the points standings so far this season. Both women are hoping to put up a real challenge for that title.
“I think whoever has consistent results week in and week out is going to be the one to have the championship at the end of the day,” said Breidinger. “I have some work to do on my end just from Daytona we’re a little bit behind on points. I’m excited, we have a lot of races ahead of us. We just got to be consistent is the biggest thing.”
This weekend is exciting for many reasons. Mainly, having Celsius back on the car with her.
Toni Breidinger bringing Celsius back for Charlotte
In recent weeks, Toni Breidinger has had an unsponsored car on the track. While she has partnerships with Celsius and Raising Cane’s, there are times when she doesn’t have a partner on the car with her at a race.
The good news, Celsius is back for Charlotte. For that, Breidinger is very thankful.
“It’s definitely tricky and that’s why I’m so lucky with Celsius that they are supporting me and they believe in my journey and I wouldn’t be racing at Charlotte without them. It’s really amazing and inspirational that they’re not only supporting me but female athletes. I’m very grateful to be working with them and they’ve also been my favorite prerace energy for so long.”
Toni is still waiting for her next opportunity to race in the Truck Series. She was hanging out at Corey Heim’s pit box this weekend at North Wilkesboro. However, there are no concrete plans to get back in the No. 1 truck, yet.
Right now, Breidinger is focused on the ARCA season and chasing a championship. The next step – Charlotte. She hopes she can show off just how much she has improved since last season. Breidinger has yet to finish top-10 at Charlotte.
“I think Charlotte’s kind of been almost like my struggle track in a sense,” Breidinger said. “So, I’ve had this one circled just for the sake that I think I can really show my improvement at this track. It’s kind of a challenge for me so I’m excited to tackle it this weekend and prove to myself how much I’ve improved from last year and the years before.”
Catch Toni Breidinger and the ARCA Menards Series at Charlotte on Friday night at 6:10 PM EST on FS1.
The post Toni Breidinger ready to show her improvement at Charlotte appeared first on On3.