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BREHANNA DANIELS

Diversity in the Pit Crew

By Alex Apple Over the course of her ascension in the NASCAR world, Daniels has
embraced the diversity she brings to a sport that yearns for “more fac-
In February of 2016, Brehanna Daniels was as far from a racetrack as es.” The Drive for Diversity program has brought young talent into the
one could get and instead was playing basketball for Norfolk sport that might not have otherwise seen the opportunity.
State University.
No one is more hard on Daniels than herself and her coach, Phil Horton.
On the 29th the Spartans played Howard, and Daniels played a The media coverage and acclaim has been an honor for Daniels, but she
critical role, scoring a career-high 17 points in 27 minutes of action. and Horton are often skeptical of declaring that she has ‘made it.’
That moment did not foreshadow the ground-breaking work that lie
shortly ahead. There are more successes yet to come, like fulfilling her dream of be-

coming an actress or making it in the Cup Series with full-time employ-
The next year, Daniels made history becoming the first African-Ameri- ment. Still, Daniels has people’s attention. She poses for photos with
can woman to work on the pit crew in one of NASCAR’s top three lev- fans, signs autographs and knows people are carefully watching her
els. That accomplishment made plenty of noise around the motorsports work. A pressure that she’s embraced, saying in interviews, “God put
world, yet Daniels might manage to top herself again. me in this position for a reason.”

Daniels is a competitor on NBC’s new show, “The Titan Games,” In two years, the Virginia Beach native went from uncaring about
produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It’s another big step for a NASCAR and knowing nothing about changing tires to being a leading
‘momma’s girl’ fulfilling her dreams. force in the sport.

Let’s retreat. Bill Venturini used a largely female crew for his championship-winning
ARCA season in 1987. Daniels looks at her work in NASCAR as larger
Near the end of her basketball career at Norfolk State, a member of the than herself, realizing that her success – like the success of Venturini’s
school’s administration approached Daniels about a Drive for Diversity crew – will pave the way for more women to join and excel in motor-
tryout at the school – to which Daniels responded, “Who said I liked sports.
NASCAR?”
“I was like, ‘let me just try something new, see where it takes me, ’” she
That statement gets funnier in hindsight considering Daniels went to told The Undefeated. “It wasn’t what I expected because when I saw a
the pit crew test, showed off her athleticism and later landed a spot with video of a pit stop, I saw a car. But I didn’t see a car in the gym. So, I’m
Concord’s Rev Racing. There she received expert training on the ins like, ‘somebody’s got some explaining to do. There’s a lot of equipment
and outs of pit crew work. laid out everywhere, what’s going on?”””

Daniels task became one built around dexterity, speed and concentra- What was going on was
tion. After all, using an impact wrench to hit five lug nuts in 1.5 seconds a career coming alive.
is no easy task. Unsurprisingly to folks that know Brehanna, she was Daniels appears on
hitting those lug nuts in around one second just months into her train- track to continue
ing. Her ascension to pit crew star was underway. making noise in the
motorsports world.
Daniels looks back and thinks about how much her mother would smile
at the things she’s accomplished. Daniels’ mother passed away when Photo courtesy of
www.nsuspartans.com
she was just 14 years old. She never missed a basketball game, and Norfolk State
University Spartans.
Daniels told The Undefeated, she is quite certain she would not have
missed a race either.

“I didn’t always see her face, but I always heard her voice,” Daniel’s said.

14 THE OFFICIAL NASCAR 2019 PREVIEW & PRESS GUIDE

Brehanna Ad.indd 1 12/18/2018 8:39:48 AM