By Hailie Deegan NASCAR His future is uncertain following his departure from AM Racing earlier this month.
The 22-year-old came into the sport with a certain amount of pomp and circumstance given her status as the daughter of racing legend Brian Deegan and her fan base off the track, but she hasn’t been able to make it big in either the CRAFTSMAN Truck or Xfinity Series. Deegan initially came up through Toyota’s development system before making the jump to Ford in late 2019.
That, Kevin Harvick said on his “Happy Hour” podcast this week, was Deegan’s first big mistake.
“I think that’s part of the problem. I don’t think the guidance and mentorship has been exactly what I needed for NASCAR,” Harvick said. “I think the big mistake here was going outside of the Toyota development system. I don’t think Ford has a great development system as far as the things they do from ARCA all the way up to Cup. I don’t even know if they have a development system. So, they put you in these situations where you don’t have the resources and the things that you need like Toyota does and Chevy doesn’t do it as well as Toyota, but they do it better than Ford.
“I think Ford has the worst development program when it comes to their drivers. Toyota has the best and I think Chevy is somewhere in the middle. But coming out of that Toyota development program with all the resources and being willing to give time. She needed more time in the Truck Series getting that guidance and mentoring that she needed to become what she needed to be to be a NASCAR race driver. And she takes this fan base away from the racetrack, it’s a great fan base and I think she was just pushed too fast and ended up in the wrong development system for her to be successful. I think the timing of her coming out of that Toyota development system was a bad decision.”
What’s Hailie Deegan’s next move?
Deegan struggled to make a name for himself in the Truck Series from 2021 to 2023 and moved to the Xfinity Series this season. He failed to finish in the top 10 in 17 races this season and sat 27th in the points standings before AM Racing decided to make a move. Joey Logano drove the No. 15 Ford at Chicago and Deegan retired shortly after.
YouTuber David Land watched Deegan at the IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway last weekend. Perhaps that’s his next step, as Harvick believes it will be difficult for him to get another shot at NASCAR.
“I think it’s going to be tough to get another chance,” Harvick said. “That’s going to be the tough part.”
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