“Better Than Danica Patrick”: Kyle Busch’s Former Crew Chief Gives His Verdict on Toni Breidinger’s Racing Potential (Exclusive)

Toni Breidinger is one of the sport’s most promising young female talents. The 24-year-old driver competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series for Venturini Motorsports, and it hasn’t taken her long to captivate the racing community. In an exclusive interview with Essentially Sports, Shannon Rursch, former crew chief for Kyle Busch Motorsports, showered high praise on the rising star Toni Breidinger and compared her favorably to another female NASCAR icon, Danica Patrick.

Toni Breidinger may not be a full-time NASCAR driver, but she has already achieved immense popularity in the sport. Her journey began in the United States Automobile Club (USAC), where she claimed 19 victories. Transitioning from open-wheel midgets to stock cars at the age of 18, Breidinger has been a part of Venturini Motorsports’ ARCA Menards Series team ever since.

Shannon Rursch believes Toni Breidinger is a better racer than Danica Patrick

Despite limited opportunities, Toni Breidinger’s early performances signaled her talent. In her series debut at the Madison International Speedway, she secured a top-10 finish. However, due to sponsorship constraints, she only competed in three events that season. It wasn’t until 2021 that her career gained momentum, with Breidinger making headlines as the first female Arab-American driver to compete in a NASCAR national series race.

Today, Toni Breidinger is a shining star for Toyota Racing Development, and the manufacturer has also featured her in the commercials. Her full-time debut for Venturini Motorsports in 2021 saw her achieve six top-10 finishes. And in the current season, she has secured four top-5 finishes out of 13 races she has competed in.

Having recently made her Truck Series debut, Breidinger’s future in the sport looks bright. Her growing reputation and continued improvement behind the wheel have made her one of NASCAR’s top female prospects.

In an exclusive with Essentially Sports, Shannon Rursch, when asked about Toni and her potential future in NASCAR, had only praise for the young driver. Shannon shared, “Yeah, hopefully, I mean, the potential certainly is there. I think she is a phenomenal advocate for a lot of different things. She’s great for ARCA, she’s great for racing. She does an excellent job behind the wheel. I did have an opportunity to work with Toni in Phoenix. I believe it was November 2021. Unfortunately, we got caught up, and a lapped car ended up… I don’t know losing the handle on their car and getting into us. But she is a great advocate. She certainly has the ability to go further.”

Reflecting on his past experiences, Shannon expressed his optimism. He stated, “I feel like she’s probably a little bit better than Danica Patrick if you want my honest opinion. I had an opportunity to work briefly with Danica when I was at Turner Motorsports, and she drove in the Xfinity Series. I’ve had an opportunity to work with Toni here at Venturini for a couple of years now. Every time she gets behind the wheel, she’s improving, she’s getting better. She does a great job and doesn’t put herself in bad situations. And her race craft has certainly improved. So there is a bright future ahead of her, no question.”

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Danica Patrick, who has already been under fire for her comments about female drivers in Formula 1, recently made yet another headline, yet again for the wrong reasons.

Patrick has a pessimistic outlook towards F1 Academy helping female drivers actually get into F1

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Former NASCAR and IndyCar driver Danica Patrick has made a statement regarding the F1 Academy. The academy’s intentions are to promote female participation in Formula One. However, Patrick maintains her skepticism about it ultimately producing a female Formula One driver. The 41-year-old believes that the academy may succeed in increasing female involvement in Formula One. But doubts it will result in a driver transitioning to the sport in the near future.

In a recent interview with Awful Announcing, when asked about whether the F1 Academy will yield a Formula One driver, Danica Patrick commented, “It’ll definitely produce more females involved in Formula One. Whether or not it’s going to actually produce a Formula One driver, I don’t know. And part of that is because there’s not a single girl that’s going to go from that to Formula One.”

When questioned about the timeline for Formula One to welcome its first female driver. Patrick expressed her pessimism, suggesting, “Maybe in 20 years.” She pointed out the numerous steps that female drivers would need to take even after succeeding in the female-only single-seater racing championship. Furthermore, she attributed the challenges women face in motorsport to what she described as the “feminine mind” and the natural inclination to avoid ruthlessness on the track.

In the exclusive with Essentially Sports, Shannon Rursch made it plenty clear that Toni Breidinger has a bright future in racing. On the other hand, Danica Patrick’s comments reflect her ongoing perspective on women in motorsport and her belief in the long road ahead for the first female Formula 1 driver.

READ MORE: “This Is Tasteless”- Racing Fandom Baffled as Global Poll Highlights Toni Breidinger’s Dominance Over Hailie Deegan