NASCAR: Patience is a virtue with Hailie Deegan

Hailie Deegan is one of NASCAR’s brightest young stars on the cusp of making waves inside a male-dominated sport, but patience is a virtue for her to find mainstream success.

At the young age of 17 years old, Temecula, California native Hailie Deegan is one of NASCAR‘s brightest future stars. In addition to her famous last name, she has found success in every level of racing in which she has competed.

After making her name in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Deegan made the jump to asphalt in 2016, racing legends cars for Revolution Racing. In 2017, she made a pair of CARS Super Late Model Tour starts, and she was named to the NASCAR Next class of 2017-2018.

Deegan’s NASCAR path became evident when she joined Bill McAnally Racing for the 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season. She also competed in a handful of K&N Pro Series East races for the team in 2018.

In her first season behind the wheel at the K&N Pro Series level, she competed in 20 races, finishing with one win, five top five finishes and 12 top 10 finishes. Her first career win came at Meridian Speedway and catapulted her to a fifth place finish in the championship standings.

After joining Bill McAnally Racing for another K&N Pro Series West season, Deegan is poised for a championship run in 2019, something that became a reality when she earned her second career victory in late February in the season opener at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.

Deegan passed fellow competitor Jagger Jones on the final lap of the 100-lap feature. In addition to securing her second career K&N Pro Series West victory, she became the first female to lead any championship standings in NASCAR history.

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With the cat out of the bag, let’s finally get to the nitty-gritty. Patience is a virtue when it comes to Hailie Deegan.

The young female prodigy is easily becoming one of the biggest stars in the sport, not only at the K&N Pro Series level but at all levels of NASCAR.

Deegan, who has the talent and the financial backing to become a mainstay in the NASCAR garages, is the first legitimate female driver who the sport has seen in quite some time. Heck, she may be the best female prospect of all-time.

What scares me about Deegan’s situation is the history of teams and sponsors rushing up big-money talent too quickly. Too many times, this sport has seen unique talents get pushed to the top levels of NASCAR without solid resumes to back them up.

Danica Patrick is the biggest example of this. Patrick, who I’ve gained much respect for over the years, wasn’t ready for a top NASCAR Cup Series ride when she joined Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2013 season.

Her market value was high due to sponsorship and fan interest, which catapulted her to the top level of NASCAR. She was talented in her own right, but NASCAR wasn’t her home, especially when you consider how quickly she jumped into the upper divisions of the sport.

Looking back at Patrick’s career, I warn fans and industry partners alike to please have patience with Ms. Deegan. Not only does she have the talent to become a true NASCAR competitor down the road; she has the ability to revolutionize the sport for years to come.

She has already peaked fan interest, and she takes over social media platforms when major events happen in her career. She will be a future face of the sport if she can get enough track time and become a competitor as opposed to a sideshow.

As a fan of NASCAR who wants to see it flourish like never before, I understand how important Deegan could be to the long-term health of the sport. With enough success, she could attract a new audience that the sport has never seen before. Considering female fans have never had a true peer to cheer for, this could open the window for the female fanbase to expand dramatically.

Aside of her impact on the sport’s future, I believe that Deegan is a true talent who could flourish with enough experience under her belt. I’d hate to see her potential be cut short by her moving up to the Truck Series or the Xfinity Series too quickly.

The bottom line is that Hailie Deegan is a future star of NASCAR, and her success could easily depend on how patient the people around her are. In 2019, she has everything she needs to build a successful NASCAR career in the coming years, but it could all be lost with the wrong moves being made too early.

Let’s not forget the Casey Atwoods, the Reed Sorensons and the Danica Patricks of the world. All were talents who moved to the Cup Series too early, and they eventually fizzled out.

Everyone wants to see this young star shine, and hopefully Deegan’s racing interests remain more important than her financial potential.

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Thanks for reading! We have nothing but stars ready to make an impact in the NASCAR garages in coming years! I hope you have enjoyed the first few weeks of the season. See you next time!

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