FORT WORTH, Texas – Brehanna Daniels became the first African-American female to pit a vehicle at Texas Motor Speedway during today’s My Bariatric Solutions 300.
The 5-foot-5 point guard who averaged 13.9 points per game as a senior at Norfolk (Va.) University is now trying to make a living as a member of a pit crew in NASCAR. She served as a tire carrier on Stephen Leicht‘s No. 55 Toyota for JP Motorsports.
Daniels, who made history last year at Dover International Speedway when she became the first African-American woman to pit a vehicle in a NASCAR national series race, entered the NASCAR Rev Racing Drive for Diversity Pit Crew program in 2017.
After training for several months at Rev Racing in Concord, N.C., and then at Xcalibur Pit School in neighboring Mooresville before she made her debut on April 8, 2017. Short a tire carrier, Daniels was inserted into the lineup during an ARCA race at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, where she became the first African-American female to go over the wall in any national racing series.
Prior to today’s race, Daniels met with the media. Here is what she had to say:
On whether she’s seen more African-American fans come out to the races …
“I’ve seen a lot more African-Americans come out during the Fontana race in California. I think some of them actually asked what pit stall I was going to be in because they were walking down (before the race) and were like, ‘can I get a picture with you, girl? We were just looking for you. Can we get a picture?’ … It touches my heart and warms my heart to see that times are changing and I’m glad to be a part of that change.”
On being a role model for aspiring African-Americans or females …
“I think God put me in this position … and that I should be this example. It’s tough being the very first to do something, it’s going to come with a lot of things. But I think God put me in this position. I’m a strong person, so I’m enjoying the challenge and enjoying it every step of the way.”
On whether she and her family are NASCAR fans now …
“I’m bringing (NASCAR) to everybody I know. Literally, nobody in my family was a NASCAR fan. The only time we’d ever watch NASCAR was when we were looking for a basketball or football game on TV. But now I’m watching all the races now.”
Information and quotes courtesy of TMS Media Relations
