Hailie Deegan is no longer with AM Racing, and a NASCAR insider has weighed in on her future in racing. Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports revealed what Deegan needs to do next to make it back to one of the national series in NASCAR.
“It might take someone with that same affinity for risk — risk from a financial standpoint — to give Deegan a solid chance of being successful,” Pockrass wrote. “Deegan needs to go to a place where she knows she can race for a couple of years. She needs to go somewhere with a strong structure in place to set reasonable goals for her to improve. She needs to go somewhere with teammates that can help her. She might even need a program where she runs select races in a variety of series from late models to Xfinity to help improve her weaknesses.”
Pockrass also wrote that Deegan was “celebrated five years ago as a potential superstar who could help transform the sport.” He added that she needs someone who believes she can take that next step in her career. “Finding a believer — from sponsor, from owner, from crew chief — will be key to whether she can make a career out of stock-car racing,” Pockrass wrote.
Deegan was set to drive for AM Racing at the Chicago Street Race this past weekend but was replaced by two-time Cup Series Champion Joey Logano. This week, AM Racing and Deegan announced they will go their separate ways. Deegan expressed her disappointment, stating that their goals no longer align. Deegan drove in the Truck Series last year and finished 19th in the standings while recording two top-10 finishes. Her most successful stint was in the ARCA Menards Series West, earning three victories and 23 top-10 finishes from 2018 to 2019.
