NASCAR’s first black woman pit crew member opens up about difficult journey

CONCORD, NC — In a man’s sport,  a charlotte woman is proving she has what it takes to hang with the boys. Brehanna Daniels is the first black woman pit crew member in NASCAR’s long history.

For the last ten years, Daniels has been judged for her gender and color of her skin.

The unexpected road to becoming NASCAR’s first black female pit crew member was a bumpy one.

It started at Norfolk State University where Daniels played for the basketball team until one day in 2016, NASCAR held a tryout on campus.

“I didn’t even know a pit crew existed,” said Daniels.

RevRacing’s Phillip Horton saw potential and gave Daniels her start.

“To see her go from what she was when she started to, to pit in the, in our biggest race was quite an accomplishment. Yes, I’m very proud that I was part of that,” said Horton.

Daniels remembers her first race well. She said she could feel people staring. It wasn’t until a stranger’s embrace, did she fell like she belonged.

“She was like, thank you for joining our sport. You don’t see too many black women out here,” Daniels said of the interaction.

The 31-year-old trailblazer stayed the course. Relying on courage passed down from her mother to get through the tough times.

“Seeing her battle with breast cancer for ten years, that gave me all the motivation I needed,” explained Daniels.

Daniels realized pretty quickly what she was doing went further than sports. She’s now the face of hope for so many who didn’t believe this world was possible.

“It’s not just the guys that can do it, women can do it to, you know, just take somebody having faith and believing in you,” said Daniels.