Kevin Harvick on Hailie Deegan’s future: ‘Going to be tough to get another chance’
Earlier this month, Xfinity Series driver Hailie Deegan and her team, AM Racing, parted ways.
It now raises the question: what’s next for Deegan? Will she get another chance to climb the ladder and end up on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit?
On the latest edition of “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour,” host Kevin Harvick provided his perspective on Deegan’s racing future.
“The big mistake here was getting out of the Toyota development system. I think Ford has the worst development program as far as their drivers go. I think Toyota has the best, and I think Chevy’s somewhere in the middle. Getting out of that Toyota development program with all the resources, and they’re willing to give time. I think that she needed more time in the Truck Series, getting that guidance and mentorship that she needed in order to develop into what she needed to be a NASCAR race-car driver,” Harvick said. “She carries this fan base off the racetrack that’s a big fan base, and I think that she just got pushed through too fast and wound up in the wrong development system for her to be successful.
“I think the moment that she stepped outside of that Toyota development system was a bad move. … I think it’s going to be tough to get another chance. That’s going to be the hard part.”
Deegan, who turns 23 on Thursday, was 28th in total points (174) in the Xfinity Series this season, with no top-five or top-10 finishes before the split with AM Racing. It was Deegan’s first season in the Xfinity Series, which came after racing three years in the Truck Series.
Across her three full-time seasons in trucks (2021-23), Deegan posted one combined top-five finish and six top-10 finishes. She finished 17th, 21st and 19th (in order) in points in those three seasons. Deegan joined Toyota’s development program in 2017 but left for Ford in late 2019.
Prior to making the jump to trucks, Deegan competed in the ARCA Menards Series West, where she racked up three wins from 2018-19 and then went on to win the 2020 ARCA Menards Series Rookie of the Year Award. In that 2020 campaign, Deegan had four top-five finishes and 17 top-10 finishes, while finishing third in points.
Deegan was one of two female drivers in the Xfinity Series this season — Natalie Decker, who drives on a part-time basis, being the other — and is the daughter of six-time motocross riding champion Brian Deegan.
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