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Hailie Deegan is four races into her rookie season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and, for the most part, her struggles from the lower series continue. Deegan is one of the most popular drivers in the lower series, but the hype behind her has yet to materialize into on-track results. What is going on with Hailie Deegan?
As the 2020s began, Hailie Deegan was one of the hottest prospects in NASCAR, and for good reason. She won 3 races in the ARCA Menards Series West between 2018 and 2019, and she finished a solid 3rd in the 2020 ARCA Menards Series standings. She was the first female ever to win races in the ARCA Menards Series West.
She parlayed that success into a promotion to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series full-time in 2021 with DGR-Crosley (now known as TRICON Garage). In her rookie season, she mustered only 1 top-10 and finished 17th in points. In fairness, no full-time driver for the team made the Playoffs, so, maybe equipment was a factor, even though Ryan Preece did win a race for the team.
In 2022, Deegan regressed. She did gather twice as many top-10s with 2, but, she began wrecking more trucks. She had 7 DNFs and fell to 21st in the points standings. DGR-Crosley again failed to put a driver in the Playoffs, but, Todd Gilliland and Ryan Preece gobbled up a win apiece.
Deegan decided to move from the relatively unproven Toyota team, DGR-Crosley, to Ford’s flagship Truck Series team, ThorSport, a team with 3 Craftsman Truck Series Championships. This time, equipment could not be an excuse, and it was time for Deegan to perform.
Once again, she only earned 2 top-10s, while all of her teammates made the Playoffs with Ben Rhodes winning the Championship. Meanwhile, Deegan’s replacement at the rebranded TRICON Garage, Corey Heim, went on to win 3 races and narrowly miss out on the Championship.
There was no way around it now. Deegan was horrendously underperforming in top equipment, so, Ford decided to get creative. Deegan had a solid Xfinity Series run at Las Vegas in 2022, finishing 13th, so, Ford decided to move her up to the Xfinity Series with AM Racing. Although, Ford’s Mark Rushbrook admitted that Trucks is higher in priority to Ford than Xfinity, so, was this really a promotion?
Regardless, AM Racing was a solid Xfinity Series team in 2023. While they failed to make the Playoffs, Brett Moffitt garnered 9 top-10s and had a top-15 points finish for the team.
Deegan’s expectations were not to win a race or a Championship. It was simply to consistently finish in the top 15 and top 20, with the occasional top 10 on a lucky day. How is that working out for her so far?
It’s still very early in Deegan’s season, so, she can easily turn things around. However, she continues to underperform in equipment that should carry her to better finishes. She was caught up in an early crash at Daytona on lap 22. The crash was not of her doing, but, she did qualify a disappointing 28th.
At Atlanta, Deegan ran out of fuel with two laps to go, but, she was well outside of the top 20 for most of the race. She followed that up with a solid 15th-place finish at Las Vegas, which is the type of race she is expected to put together consistently.
Then came Phoenix, where Deegan, once again outside of the top 20, got loose and tagged the wall on lap 137 to bring out a questionable caution flag. On the ensuing restart, Deegan was caught up in a big accident that ended her day as she finished 33rd.
While both of the wrecks she’s been caught up in were not her fault, she wasn’t racing near the front in both races. Drivers often make their own luck in motorsports, and consistently qualifying and racing near the back means that wrecks often happen in front of them. That’s happened to Deegan twice this year.
Her accidents have not been her fault, but, they’ve been the product of lackluster performance putting her in a bad position.
The biggest glimmer of hope for Deegan is her race at Las Vegas. She finished a solid 15th, so, she can get the most out of her equipment. If she can do that consistently, that will help her rebuild her racing career. The problem is, that’s been the exception, not the rule, not only this year but every year since she left ARCA.
Will Hailie Deegan turn it around? Time will tell, but, she needs to turn it around very soon.
