Breanna O’Leary, an Alcorn State University graduate, is a professional NASCAR pit crew member who made sports history by breaking gender barriers in a heavily male-dominated motorsport. O’Leary’s trajectory connects her collegiate background at Alcorn State University to a trailblazing career on NASCAR’s pit road.
“I grew up in Amarillo, Texas, and played softball all throughout high school and junior college,” shared O’Leary. “That is when I was recruited by Alcorn State to come play in Mississippi.”
O’Leary played for Alcorn State University’s Lady Braves for two seasons (2013-2014) as an outfielder. After finishing her playing career, she stayed on at Alcorn to serve as a graduate assistant and strength and conditioning coach while working towards a master’s degree in athletic administration. It was during this time that an opportunity to work in motorsports was presented to O’Leary.
“The NASCAR opportunity absolutely fell into my lap,” explained O’Leary. “I was the graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach for Alcorn, and was leaning towards a coaching career. I wasn’t even a fan of motorsports at the time.”
The NASCAR Driver Development Program (formerly known as the Drive for Diversity program) is an initiative launched in 2004 to recruit and train female and minority individuals as drivers, crew members, and officials. The program acts as an intensive ladder system to prepare talented prospects for NASCAR’s top national series.
“NASCAR came to campus looking to recruit former college athletes to move and train and become pit crew members. I remember thinking the ideal pit crew member was probably a football player or a big, strong guy. But I decided to give the tryout a chance anyway,” shared O’Leary.
The tryouts for the NASCAR Driver Development Program, known as the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine, are an intensive, multi-day evaluation process designed to test a driver’s abilities both on and off the track. Only the top 20 got invited to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the combine.
“So there were 10 other football guys at our tryout at Alcorn,” shared O’Leary. “And it took a few weeks, but I got the call, and was flown out to Charlotte for a couple of days doing physical assessments, and learning the tools.”
In 2016, out of dozens of former college athletes competing at the national combine in North Carolina, O’Leary’s physical conditioning and agility earned her one of the rare spots to train full-time with Rev Racing.
O’Leary relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, to put her fast-twitch athletic skills to use specifically for changing heavy stock-car tires under intense pressure. She was paired with Brehanna Daniels, a former Norfolk State basketball player. Together, they became known as “Bre Squared” on pit road.
At the July 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, O’Leary was in charge of changing rear tires, and Daniels was in charge of changing front tires, making history as the first female duo to serve on the same over-the-wall pit crew for a team, Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51 car, in NASCAR’s premier Cup Series.
After a decade in the NASCAR business, O’Leary is shifting gears and giving back, tapping into her Alcorn degree.
“I’m 10 years in now, and tire changing isn’t something you can do forever, due to the physical toll,” shared O’Leary. “I’m now working my way to the other side of NASCAR. I am an independent contractor, and working in the truck series with a driver, Dystany Spurlock. She has made her NASCAR debut this year, and I also train her as her strength and conditioning coach.”
NASCAR drivers and pit crew members are highly conditioned athletes who train daily. Drivers need elite cardiovascular endurance to withstand intense heat and elevated heart rates for hours, while pit crews require explosive, NFL-style strength and agility to change tires and refuel cars in under 10 seconds.
“It is an absolute full circle moment for me,” shared O’Leary. “I was the graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Alcorn when NASCAR found me and provided me an opportunity. And now that I’m settled in the profession, the last four years, I’ve gotten to share my knowledge and expertise in strength and conditioning with young drivers, up and coming, and that is rewarding.”
And when she looks back on her time at Alcorn, she would encourage anyone not to pass up the opportunity for higher education there.
“I would tell anybody to go there,” shared O’Leary. “I had a blast. I grew up and learned so much, not just about school and education, but about life and people and experiences. As such, it’s just ‘Always Alcorn, as we say.”
