NASCAR: Will Hailie Deegan’s move from Toyota to Ford pay off?

Hailie Deegan signed a multi-year contract with Ford to continue her NASCAR career after spending a few seasons with Toyota. Will her move pay off?

Hailie Deegan spent the 2018 and 2019 NASCAR seasons competing full-time in K&N Pro Series West and part-time in K&N Pro Series West, doing so with Toyota at Bill McAnally Racing for all but one of her 42 starts during this time. Her other start was with DGR-Crosley this past season in K&N Pro Series East.

In 2019, she also made the step up to the ARCA Menards Series in a part-time driver role for Venturini Motorsports, competing in six of the 20 races on the schedule behind the wheel of a Toyota.

However, even after two successful seasons with Toyota, highlighted by two top five finishes in the K&N Pro Series West championship standings and three victories, Deegan made the decision earlier this month to move from Toyota to Ford ahead of the 2020 season.

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The newest Ford development driver is slated to drive for DGR-Crosley full-time in the ARCA Menards Series next season. DGR-Crosley also just switched from Toyota to Ford earlier this month.

Will the move of the 18-year-old Temecula, California native pay off?

There are many reasons to believe why it will, from the overall development aspect of it, which is not limited to just one series at a time, to the idea of a higher ceiling with more opportunities to climb the ladder to the top without being rushed up to that point.

Here is what Deegan had to say about her decision, according to Autosport.

"“I’m super excited to kind of rekindle the relationship my dad had with Ford, bring that back to our lifestyle, what we have going on It’s a matter of timing deal. Over the years I got aligned with Toyota, but now I thought the right path for me was coming back to Ford, [given] how my dad’s relationship started there.”"

Deegan’s father Brian does have quite a successful history with Ford, driving a Ford Fiesta in the Global Rallycross Championship and winning a gold medal in the RallyCross competition at the X Games back in 2011.

This new deal for Deegan will also allow her to compete in IMSA behind the wheel of a Mustang GT4 for Multimatic Motorsports, and it could very well result in her competing in a number of Truck Series races before the 2020 season comes to an end, with DGR-Crosley operating a multi-car Truck Series team as well.

"“I think it definitely was a smart move on all of our parts. With my alliance with Ford, we’re focusing on being in really good equipment and having really good outside resources, not just a ‘write the check, to go race’ deal. It’s developing, making me a better driver, going to the IMSA racing with sim time, stuff like that. True development is not just writing a check to go race. It’s all around making you a better driver as a whole.”"

Ford Performance Motorsports global director Mark Rushbrook echoed the sentiment that this is a great opportunity for Deegan to truly develop into a top-tier driver and ascend through the ranks.

"“Hailie has shown in her brief time behind the wheel of a stock car that she’s got what it takes to be successful. Our goal is to put her on a path to realize our shared goal of winning championships, and part of that is gaining experience on tracks such as road courses and superspeedways.”"

Her father also commented, emphasizing the fact that she is in a good position but that she will also need patience to continue to progress.

"“I’m scared to say, ‘Let’s just jump to Trucks’. Ok, she’s going to go out and run mid-pack or run 10th, whatever the case is, but that’s not the same as ‘I have a chance to win today.’ She needs to taste that more. She needs to lead laps, have more wins, have more experience. Believe me, she wants to get to the big show.”"

Deegan added that her decision also had to do with the fact that there are more potential available seats higher up within the Ford camp in the near future, whereas many of the seats higher up the Toyota ladder are already occupied, presumably for the foreseeable future with so many other drivers already competing for Toyota.

She obviously has quite a ways to go yet before she reaches top-level NASCAR competition in the Cup Series, but it is definitely worth noting that there are currently five full-time Toyota entries with just two teams in the series. Meanwhile, there are 13 full-time Ford entries among six teams.

In a series where the difference between landing a competitive ride and being out of a ride completely altogether can be minuscule, this is a huge disparity.

She effectively now has a higher ceiling and more room to advance with Ford and shouldn’t be restricted if she does eventually prove herself, something that could become an issue with how many young drivers Toyota already has developing in the lower series, vying for a limited number of competitive seats at the top.

"“At the Toyota side, there’s a lot of drivers over there. There’s not many rides open in the higher levels. Over here, there’s a lot more focus and a lot more clearer path on what they’re trying to do with their development drivers – their drivers coming through the ranks [and] having enough seats for them.”"

Above all, it’s not like she’s sacrificing anything in the short-term to reach that long-term goal. Yes, there is inevitable risk in every move of this nature, but this isn’t exactly what you’d consider a massive gamble, even with her having had the success that she had with Toyota and Bill McAnally Racing.

Ford is a competitive manufacturer and DGR-Crosley are a competitive team with which she should continue to compete at the front of the field, be it in ARCA or in the Truck Series, and develop into a driver who can be promoted from one level to the next without being pushed along solely for the sake of being pushed along.

Given the success she had during her two seasons with Toyota, there is no reason to believe she won’t.

Will Hailie Deegan find success in NASCAR now with her having moved from Toyota to Ford? The 20-race 2020 ARCA Menards Series season is scheduled to begin on Saturday, February 8 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.