By Kimberly Wilson ·Updated March 28, 2025 < /> Growing up, Brehanna Daniels never imagined she’d be changing tires at 180 miles per hour. Racing wasn’t even on her radar, let alone as an entire career. After all, how many young Black girls see images of themselves represented in a sport that is predominantly dominated by white men? And we know that it can be hard to fathom becoming what you can’t, or never have seen.
But here she is, shattering expectations and rewriting the rulebook for Black women in NASCAR. The Norfolk State graduate is doing it all, one pit stop at a time.As the first Black female NASCAR Tire Changer and Cup Series pit crew member, Daniels has carved out a space that didn’t exist before her arrival.
Her journey and subsequent success in the sport is a blueprint for future generations of Black women who might never have considered racing as a viable path.“Stepping onto pit road for the first time was a mix of emotions,” says Daniels. The pressure was real and the doubts persisted.
But here she still stands, leading a space where people that looked like her were practically non-existent. But overall, her excitement trumped fear. “I was joining a space where not a lot of people look like me,” she says, with a mix of pride and determination that has become her trademark.
Her path to NASCAR wasn’t predetermined. In fact, 13-year-old Brehanna would be shocked to see her current reality. “NASCAR wasn’t part of my upbringing or background,�.
