August 15, 2024 (Concord, NC) – This year’s recipient of the NASCAR Diversity Award and the ARCA Menards Series all-time leader in team victories, Venturini Motorsports embarks on re-writing NASCAR history when the team is represented by four women drivers at the Illinois State Fairground’s Springfield Dirt Mile on Sunday, August 18.
Setting a new benchmark for female drivers competing in a single event under the same team banner, Venturini Motorsports will feature Toni Breidinger, Amber Balcaen, Isabella Robusto and Taylor Reimer.
“Over the past couple of decades we’ve seen more women drivers making a positive impact on our sport,” said team owner Billy Venturini. “Although female drivers competing at this level is nothing new I’ve seen more and more talented women drivers coming up the ranks the last few years. These women on our team are great role models for younger girls looking at our sport. This weekend will be special but honestly I don’t really look at it as gender specific – for us it’s just another day at the track with our
drivers.”
Toni Breidinger, driver of the No.25 Sunoco Toyota, is a 24-year-old race car driver hailing from San Francisco. Breidinger has made fifty-seven career ARCA Menards Series starts, all with VMS, since 2018 and is in the midst of her first full season in 2024. With seven top-ten finishes in twelve starts in the year, Breidinger currently occupies the fifth spot in the ARCA Menards Series championship point standings.
Amber Balcaen, a Canadian driver from Winnipeg, Manitoba, also is competing for the ARCA Menards Series championship in 2024. The 32-year old driver of the No.22 Icon Direct Toyota has thirty-five career starts since 2022 and is currently sixth in the series standings.
Isabella Robusto, driver of the No.20 JBL Toyota, is a member of Toyota Racing Development’s TD2 program. Competing in selected events during the 2024 season, the 19-year-old from Fort Mill, South Carolina has impressed with three top-five and six top-ten finishes in eight starts across the ARCA Menards Series platform (National, East and West), including a pair of runner-up finishes at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway (East) and Irwindale Speedway (West).
Taylor Reimer, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is set to make her season debut at Springfield. The 24-year-old driver will be making her second career start on Sunday driving the No.55 BuzzBallz Toyota. Reimer, who grew up racing on dirt, made her ARCA Menards Series debut with VMS in 2023 at Springfield and finished eighth.
Fielding multiple female drivers is not out of the norm for Venturini Motorsports. In 2018, the team set the record for the most female drivers from one team in a single race at Chicagoland Speedway with three: Breidinger, Natalie Decker, and Leilani Munter. The team is also known for pioneering the first all-female pit crew in NASCAR history. Known as the Ultra Blue Crew, the women were the primary crew featured in 1985, 1986 and the team’s first championship season in 1987.
Sunday’s historic race from Springfield will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) starting at 2 p.m. ET. Live timing and scoring data and race audio will be available at ARCARacing.com.
Press Inquiries: Contact Tom Venturini (PR@Venturinimotorsports.com)
