NASCAR: Hailie Deegan Truck debut expectations

Hailie Deegan is set to make her NASCAR Truck Series debut in the Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway. How will she perform behind the wheel of the #17 DGR-Crosley Ford?

Hailie Deegan has arrived in NASCAR! She is set to make her Truck Series debut in the Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway. Driving the #17 DGR-Crosley Ford, she is slated to start in 34th place. How will she fare in her debut?

Deegan has experience at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Kansas City, Kansas. She has made two ARCA Menards Series starts there and finished in eighth and ninth place. She is set to make her third career ARCA start there later today in the season finale.

Deegan sits in third place in the ARCA championship standings, and she will clinch the Rookie of the Year honors at Kansas Speedway.

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“This is a big weekend for me. It’s the ARCA season finale and my first truck start at Kansas,” Deegan said in a team release. “I was happy when they announced the schedule change so now I can run the ARCA race first on Friday and get those extra laps before racing the truck on Saturday. Before I was going to have to run both races back-to-back on Friday with the truck race first, which was not ideal for me.”

Deegan’s experience at Kansas Speedway will be useful for her Truck Series debut. This year, it’s also beneficial because there are no practice sessions and no qualifying session.

Although Deegan has two top 10 finishes at Kansas Speedway in ARCA, finishing inside the top 10 in the Clean Harbors 200 will be a challenge. This race will be the third Truck Series race there this year, as this race was realigned from Eldora Speedway due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the Truck Series doubleheader at Kansas Speedway earlier this season, 18 drivers finished on the lead lap in both races. Finishing on the lead lap will be the first goal for Deegan. Given her experience at Kansas Speedway, she should achieve that goal.

Leaning on her teammate Tanner Gray will also be important as she learns how to wheel her #17 Ford. Gray finished in 18th and fourth place in the two races of the doubleheader back in July.

The two drivers have raced together as ARCA teammates six times this season. Of those six races, Gray and Deegan split besting each other at three apiece. Gray notched two top five finishes and six top 10 finishes. Deegan earned one top five finish and five top 10 finishes, so the two DGR-Crosley drivers have worked well together.

Unfortunately, no practice or qualifying will also serve as a hindrance for Deegan. A total of 19 of the 23 races on this year’s schedule have been completed, and 19 drivers have competed in every race this season. So Deegan is at a disadvantage: she has to learn how to pilot her #17 Ford quickly against a field which has raced together all season.

But she will have a fast #17 Ford.

https://twitter.com/HailieDeegan/status/1315003895173861376

“I’m super excited for my first Truck Series race at Kansas on Saturday,” Deegan said in a press release upon announcing her Truck Series debut. “This will be a big learning experience for me and it will help me qualify for any races I may do next year. It will be challenging with no practice or qualifying, and having to start in the back based on points. The competition in the Truck Series is very good, which will make this that much harder, but it will help my development so much. This is a big step for me and I’m excited to take on this learning curve.”

Where will Hailie Deegan finish in her Truck Series debut? I predict she will finish on the lead lap in 15th place.

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The Clean Harbors 200, which is the opening race of the round of 8 of the playoffs, is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Kansas Speedway beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon.

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