“That’s not Toni Breidinger”: NASCAR fans react as TRICON Garage confirms Tanner Gray and Gio Ruggiero for 2026

TRICON Garage announced the contract extension for their drivers for the 2026 NASCAR Truck Series season, but Toni Breidinger’s name was not on the announcement, and that’s exactly why NASCAR fans were talking about it.

On Thursday, December 18, TRICON Garage announced that they have extended the contract extensions with drivers Tanner Gray and Gio Ruggiero for next season. After the announcement, fans took to social media platforms to voice their opinions. Instead of focusing solely on the two confirmed drivers, fans flooded the comments with one recurring name: Toni Breidinger.

So, when David Gilliland’s owned TRICON announced the return of Gray and Ruggiero without mentioning Breidinger, reactions followed quickly.

One fan wrote:

“That’s not Toni Breidinger” “Announce Toni,” another fan wrote. “Y'all gonna attempt the Daytona 500 again this year?” third fan commented. “Awesome!! Hoping to see them both win” another user added on the return of Gray and Ruggiero. “Good job,” a fifth user wrote.

Toni Breidinger, one of NASCAR’s most recognizable drivers and a trailblazer for women in the sport, has become closely associated with Toyota-backed development programs. With TRICON serving as Toyota’s flagship Truck Series operation, many fans had speculated that the San Francisco-born driver could be in line for a future opportunity with the team or at least expected her name to surface in lineup discussions.

Meanwhile, Tanner Gray is back for his fourth season in a row with Gilliland’s team. However, he has yet to score a win in the Truck Series. Whereas, Gio Ruggiero, this will be his second year in NASCAR’s third-tier series with TRICON. He won a maiden Truck win in 2025.

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What future holds for Toni Breidinger in NASCAR?

Fans want to know, will Toni Breidinger return to the Truck Series? She had failed to deliver performances in 2025. She had faced issues on the track on top of a lack of speed that did not match the rest of TRICON’s drivers.

Her popularity extends beyond results alone, as she brings in so much sponsorship and brands that usually don’t do business in the sport; the 26-year-old has to show that she can get the results.

Breidinger hasn’t even scored a top-five finish yet in 29 NASCAR Truck Series starts.

Still, TRICON Garage is left with two empty seats to complete their 2026 Truck Series lineup. So, the doors are not completely closed yet for Breidinger.

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Edited by Yash Soni