What started as a typical season for Hailie Deegan has swiftly turned into a new experience for the young driver. Mid-season free agency is no fun for any driver, so what has Hailee been up to?
2024 was going to be a major stepping stone for Deegan. After a few middling years in the Truck Series in decent equipment, Deegan would get a fresh start in a new series.
AM Racing was not at the competitive level of some Xfinity Series programs like Stewart-Haas or Kaulig Racing. However, with former truck champion Brett Moffitt, the team had nine top-tens in 2023.
Deegan was also paired with veteran Crew chief Joe Williams, who had won in the series with Cole Custer in 2022.
However, a rough start to the season for the rookie resulted in one lead-lap finish, a 23rd-place finish at COTA, in five starts. The high of Deegans season would be a career-high finish of 12th at Talladega.
Despite a stretch of lead lap finishes lasting three races, Deegan’s season spiralled. By Nashville, Deegan had just four lead lap finishes and finished outside the top 30 eight times in 16 races.
However, after Nashvillie, a shocking announcement from AM Racing.
Many fans speculated that Deegan wasn’t out permanently. Instead, they mentioned the Chicago street circuit in Grant Park and how Deegan had no experience there. This theory was not necessarily foolproof, but some accepted it as the team and driver had not cut ties.
However, one week later, fans were shocked to learn from Deegan that the pair had indeed parted ways.
In a statement via her X account, Deegan said that the two had parted ways and that “Sadly, our goals no longer align,” making some question about whether this was a mutual or individual decision.
If the latter of the two, whose call was it? Also, what did this mean for Deegan’s future? Does she have a plan?
Shortly after her statement, fans and insiders saw her at the IndyCar race in Iowa.
These reports fueled rumors that the young driver was looking at a future in IndyCar. Even a video of her climbing out of the “two-seater” IndyCar went trending, though Deegan cleared the air shortly after the video was posted.
However, another rumor began circulating after the Haas Factory Team announced it would continue running the Stewart Haas Racing Xfinity program in 2025.
SHR is a Ford team, and considering that Deegan had ties to the team through Ford, many fans’ hopes were crushed when, at Michigan, Gene Haas announced the team lineup to be Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed.
So what’s left for Deegan after a tough few months?
Deegan has not announced her plans for 2025. Some speculate that she could go the open-wheel route, including Indy NXT and potentially IndyCar.
Deegan has a history of karting and dirt racing in open wheel. Her recent YouTube content has not helped these rumors, with Deegan testing an F3 car in just this past week.
While this wouldn’t be a career change for Deegan, it would be a major step. Notably, her statement about AM Racing mentioned that she wanted to focus on “getting back to being competitive.”
Whether outside of NASCAR or not, Deegan is just 21 years old and has shown to have what it takes to progress through stock car racing. Deegan could have seat offers in the Truck Series by name alone. If so, rather than a fresh start, maybe a fresh restart could help.
If Deegan can find a way to get back not a winning but competitive mindset, maybe that driver who was setting the NASCAR world on fire in the late 2010s could make a comeback.
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