What’s Happening?

While the Silly Season for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has been rather quiet, things could be heating up, as a new rumor claims that Hailie Deegan could be headed back to Trucks in 2026.

Would not be shocked to see Hailie Deegan back in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

— BrakeHard (@BrakeHardBlog) September 9, 2025

Hailie Deegan was once considered a top NASCAR prospect for Ford, but, at the start of the 2025 season, the 24-year-old was without a NASCAR ride.

As the daughter of motocross legend Brian Deegan, Deegan grew up in a racing background, and quickly flew through the lower levels of NASCAR, winning three ARCA Menards Series West races in 2018 and 2019.

In 2020, Deegan moved up to full-time ARCA Menards Series action, and though she did not win, she pieced together a solid season against competition like Sam Mayer and Chandler Smith. That same season, Deegan made her NASCAR National Series debut in the Truck Series with DGR-Crosley, ultimately going full-time with the team in 2021.

However, Deegan’s momentum would stop here, after two full-time seasons with DGR, and a shift to the ThorSport Racing, Deegan had finished no higher than 17th in points by the end of the 2023 season. Nonetheless, Deegan would announce plans to race full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024, signing with AM Racing.

Deegan would once again not achieve lofty expectations at this level, as the two would part ways just 17 races into the season, leaving her without a ride and leading to her eventual shift to the IndyNXT Series this season.

After finishing no higher than 11th and 14th in points in rookie season in open wheel, fans were wondering what Deegan’s plans for 2026 were. While a return to IndyNXT seemed likely, a recent post from BrakeHard suggests that Deegan could be headed back to trucks; the only question is, what team could this be?

Current Truck Series Openings

As of press time, Deegan has yet to announce any plans for the 2026 season, and while this is not a guarantee she could return to NASCAR and the Truck Series, if she is looking for a spot in the truck series, there are already several options.

First and foremost is a spot at ThorSport Racing. The four, sometimes five, truck team is parting ways with its longest tenured driver, Matt Crafton, at the end of this season. While Ty Majeski is filling Crafton’s No. 88 for 2026, this seemingly leaves an opening in the No. 98.

Deegan’s first tenure with ThorSport was not great, but if she were to return to NASCAR, returning to ThorSport would be a more than ideal landing spot.

Another notable opening, or perhaps openings, could be at Niece Motorsports.

This season, the team initially planned to field full-time entries for Matt Millis, Christian Rose, and Kaden Honeycutt. However, Rose was out of the No. 44 before the start of the season, and the team cut ties with Honeycutt in August, claiming he had signed with a new team and OEM for 2026.

After cutting out Honeycutt, the team brought on former Spire Motorsports driver Andrés Pérez de Lara for the rest of the season. However, the team has yet to confirm its 2026 lineup, meaning there could be one to two spots open for next season. While Niece is not the top of the heap in the series, it is a competitive spot with new ownership, indicating it could be a safe landing spot for a driver returning to NASCAR.

Finally, and an option most likely to point to, is Kaulig Racing, which is opening a five-truck operation for the 2026 with Ram, who is returning to the sport after leaving over a decade ago. While rumors suggest that Brendan Queen or Daniel Dye could sign with the team, Deegan could easily slide into one of these five full-time seats.

Ultimately, if Deegan were to return to NASCAR, it would mark the end to an odd period in her career, but, perhaps she will return better than ever, having taken on a new style of racing and schedule throughout this season.

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