NASCAR: How will Hailie Deegan fare in her first full-time K&N Pro Series season?

By Tyler Callaway | Jan 7, 2018

ROSEVILLE, CA - OCTOBER 13: Detailed view of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series logo during qualifying for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Toyota/NAPA 150 at the All American Speedway on October 13, 2012 in Roseville, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images for NASCAR) /

Hailie Deegan has signed on to race full-time in the NASCAR K&N Pro West Series in 2018. What can we expect to see as she transitions to stock cars?

In November when news broke that pop culture icon and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick announced that she would be retiring from NASCAR after a final running of the 2018 Daytona 500 and Indy 500, fans started to wonder how long it would be before NASCAR got another female driver.

We may have gotten our answer when it was announced that 2018 NASCAR Next driver Hailie Deegan would be competing full-time in the K&N Pro Series West circuit for Bill McAnally Racing. Deegan will pilot the #19 Mobil 1/NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota as she attempts her first full-time season in a stock car.

As the daughter of motocross legend Brian Deegan, Hailie’s background was in dirt bikes and off-road trucks where she was a proficient racer in each, showing off the ability to run up front consistently and having an aggressive driving style that will translate well to stock car racing.

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Being a part of a NASCAR Next Class that features rising stars Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton would seem intimidating for a newcomer to asphalt, but Deegan actually shows the most potential as a driver compared to her classmates and the K&N Series has been good to motocross turned NASCAR drivers like Ricky Carmichael and Travis Pastrana before her. Carmichael posted eight top 10 finishes in 13 races and Pastrana posted an average finish of 15th place in 12 races.

Cutting her teeth in the K&N Series will provide the 16-year old with plenty of experience and I’d expect a season of ups and downs with plenty of talent shining through the cracks. With her tenacious driving style, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see the “Dirt Princess” manage a couple of wins this season.

She won’t have the experience of some of her competitors, but she’ll prove her worth and I think show the beginning stages of a young woman who will lead a generation of female drivers into the forefront of NASCAR competition.

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Danica Patrick was a trail blazer who opened the door for women in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but she wasn’t the chosen one who would bring to fruition our first female NASCAR Cup Series champion. Deegan’s ability behind the wheel and her fiery nature as a driver could break up the old boys club that’s been going on in NASCAR Victory Lane since the Junior Johnson was running moonshine.