Brehanna Daniels, First African American Woman, NASCAR Pit Crew Member
How one lady made history and became a trailblazer for others to follow
Brehanna Daniels, a 27-year-old, made history as NASCAR’s first African American female tire changer via the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program in 2016.
Daniels graduated in 2016 from Norfolk State University in Virginia and while attending played point guard on the women’s basketball team. Upon hearing from a friend that NASCAR was holding tryouts for their pit crews, she chuckled as this was beyond her comprehension. But deep down within her, the thought would not go away. She felt that was God urging her to try out and she did.
Upon trying out, she was the only female in a group of men trying out for one of the coveted spots on a NASCAR pit crew as part of the organization’s Drive for their diversity program whose goal was to recruit and train minority and female racecar drivers along with pit crew members. Since the program’s inception, it has had 50 graduates of the pit crew member division who are currently working for the organization.
