Dirt Driving Deegan

DIRT DRIVING

DEEGAN

By Alex Apple

For Hailie Deegan’s eighth birthday, her parents did not get her the typical gift that most children of that age ask for.

Her parents got her a small truck, and racing has been her passion ever since. Her father is a ten-time X Games medalist, but Hailie has charted her own course. Her immense success in junior racing started to catch the eye of NASCAR and development programs across the country.

She promptly became the first female driver to win a NASCAR Pro Series Race.

In 2020, Deegan will continue her career with Ford’s backing as they add her to their driver development program. The offseason (if you can say she has one) was spent in the ARCA Menards Series with a Cup of tea in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

“It was really cool because they came to me,” Deegan told NASCAR.com about Ford’s interest. “It shows that people care, it shows that they want to be fully invested and want to better your future and have a good relationship for a long time.”

Born in California, the 18-year-old started racing dirt bikes the year before her parents got her a truck at age eight. With her father always around tracks and racing, Deegan began to find her own passion for speed and driving.

Deegan’s success started in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series where she was the first female to win a Championship in 2013. A few years later, she became the Modified Kart National Champion.

Later the next year, Deegan make the decision to explore new horizons. Having caught the eye of many as one of the youngest drivers on the kart Series, Hailie moved to asphalt. g

She made her asphalt, late-model debut with a pair of CARS Super Late Model Tour starts, the first of which came at Tri-County Motor Speedway, then Hickory Motor Speedway.

While still attending Rancho Christian High School, Hailie became a NASCAR Drive for Diversity member in 2016 and became one of nine drivers to comprise the 2017 NASCAR Next Class.

That placed her on the fast-track to success. Her 2019 Pro Series season saw her make her debut for the DGR-Crosley team at the second Pro Series East race at Bristol in their No. 54 Toyota Camry. Her first ARCA top-five would come weeks later at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and she won the pole the next week at Roseville.

Deegan has shown a rare maturity and dedication to her craft that separates her from many of her teenage peers. It’s what made Ford come calling to pluck her from Toyota’s development driver program. Training as hard on her fitness as her driving, Deegan has shown a consistency most teenagers cannot match.

Deegan’s shift to Ford also represents a family homecoming. Her father, Brian, drove Fords as part of his decorated X Games career, wheeling a Ford Fiesta to Rallycross gold in 2011. He also drove Fiestas in the Global Rallycross Championship and a Ford Raptor in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series.

The ARCA slate and IMSA will bring more scrutiny, something many might shy away from at her age. “That’s just how it is. One person wins. You’re going to have a lot of bad days,” she admits, seeming ready to handle any adversity coming her way.

In Deegan’s first season on NASCAR Pro Series West, running for Bill McAnally Racing, she made her debut at New Smyrna Speedway. She finished 19th, falling back slightly from her starting position thanks to mechanical problems.

Later in the year, Hailie caught the eye of a former Sprint Cup Series Champion, Kevin Harvick. The two fought for position late in the race.

Harvick told Daniel McFadin of NBC Sports after the race, “If I had to pick one person to say, ‘Alright, that’s the person KHI would want to represent and has the most potential,’ it would probably be Hailie Deegan. She did really, really well.”

For her age, Deegan has a remarkable level of racing

experience on different surfaces and in different cars. Deegan received her high school diploma in June of 2018 before a race at Sonoma. Adding to her day, Deegan went on to qualify third moments after receiving her diploma. That race completed an impressive start to her year in West Series races. In each of her first six races, Deegan finished top ten.

Despite all those accomplishments, the highlight of Deegan’s season came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. Deegan qualified on the pole, the first female driver to do that at the the 2019 Pro Series level. Her first win was at the NAPA Auto Parts Idaho 208. During that race, she sensed the chance of the 2018 victory, so Deegan passed her teammate on the last lap to win, which was the only lap she led all race long.

Deegan easily amassed Rookie of the Year honors.

At 18 years old, Deegan is one of the brightest young stars in NASCAR, but what impresses all who meet the budding star is the ease with which she handles her success. Comfortable in her own skin, Deegan possesses the poise that eludes most teens.

Scrutiny and pressure will now only increase for Deegan, but does it seem like she would have it any other way?