When you visit a NASCAR racetrack, who do you see? Buffy or skinny, tall or short drivers of any kind of physique strapping into racing gear to burn some rubber and trade paint. But the common factor is that most of them are men. You do see women either on the grandstands or in the race garages, but there are very few behind the wheel. Changing this old narrative is a challenge that some women racers, including Hailie Deegan [in NASCAR Xfinity Series], Toni Breidinger [in Truck Series and ARCA Menards], and Taylor Kuehl [in Dirt Racing], are fearlessly taking up.

While Hailie Deegan and Breidinger have managed to enter NASCAR but continue to struggle, Toni Kuehl is outside NASCAR, and her Dirt Racing presence is solid, to say the least. She achieved some groundbreaking goals, like the IMCA Lade Eagle distinction. And, now this has drawn questions about how she handles it in a man’s world.

Taylor Kuel is a walking, breathing icon

NASCAR has been flooded with news about the only woman’s Xfinity driver’s collapse. Hailie Deegan had moved from Craftsman Truck to Xfinity for 2024 under AM Racing, despite lacking impressive finishes. When she failed to deliver this season, Deegan lost her ride mid-season. Now her career hangs in a balance. However, as Toni has only appeared for one of the Truck Races this season, her ARCA records speak for her talent. The driver of the No. 25 Venturini Motorsports has landed in the top 10 in seven of her 12 starts.

And motorsports has other women drivers flourishing elsewhere, putting up with male-dominated tracks and aggressive racing. Case in point: Taylor Kuehl. She is an IMCA Supernationals dirt racer, already holding a glittering resume.

Kenny Wallace, the top voice for female drivers, recently interviewed Taylor Kuehl about her pursuits. And, to everyone’s surprise, the latter had a very broad perspective to offer while referring to Hailie Deegan’s situation. “I remember you asking Hailie like, ‘Does everyone wreck you?’ …I figured, all of us racers are kind of the same. Um, we’re all a little bit different in our own way. Some of us are really aggressive, some of us are really respectful and we’re not aggressive. We can all kind of be one or the other at times.” 

Despite adopting a neutral stance, Taylor Kuehl admitted that some drivers are intrinsically rowdy. NASCAR has no dearth of them—imagine Ross Chastain or Carson Hocevar. But Kuehl is at peace with it—she has her way of handling the drama, courtesy of her dad. He added, “Some guys are just overly aggressive, and you can either talk to them about it or you can’t. Or you just race them the same way, or you don’t. My dad taught me that the way of beating them is just to pass them, beat them in the race. You don’t need to beat the crap out of their cars because they did it to you.”

Taylor Kuehl’s calm and composed demeanor helps her in snuffing her male opponents. She entered IMCA in 2019 after winning kart races and racing dirt elsewhere. She ended up earning the Northern Sport Mod Rookie of the Year. In 2023, Kuehl shone brightly—she raced 41 IMCA Northern Sport Mod features, 8 of which she won, and also placed top 5 in 21 of them. But Kuehl’s moment of glory came in November last year.

When Kuehl silenced the field

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Last season was a happening one for the Arizona native driver. Taylor Kuehl traveled to 14 different tracks in four Midwestern States over the course of the season. Her extensive travel brought golden payouts as well—she won eight Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod starts. Kuehl also topped the points standings among nearly 300 female drivers competing in IMCA. At the end of the year, Kuehl snagged the coveted Lady Eagle honors, an IMCA distinction.

Taylor Kuehl beamed with pride after reaching the top, confessing she did not expect this victory. “We didn’t start the season running for the Lady Eagle but winning it was really cool to do. It’s another prestigious award to put on our racing resume.” 

Kuehl was one of just four drivers placing in the Harris Clash, Captain of the Creek, and Super Nationals main events. She hailed her opponents while declaring her intentions to grow wings. She said, “Racing with those drivers, learning and getting better were really our goals at the starts of the season and we accomplished that. Our future plans are to earn more wins and take new opportunities in divisions beyond the SportMod.”

Clearly, Taylor Kuehl is bound for great heights. She has also raced stock cars in between her dirt racing events. We cannot wait for her to carve her way into NASCAR’s Top tiers.