Hailie Deegan is probably more important to NASCAR racing than it realises. Since Danica Patrick retired from competition, Deegan has emerged as the most likely successor to her standing as the leading lady of stock car competition in America. But this week Deegan’s hype train hit the buffers, as at the age of 24, her Xfinity Series team pulled her from its No. 15 Ford Mustang and left her at a career crossroads.
It’s quite a contrast to Patrick, who finished 10th in the Xfinity Series standings in 2012 with Jr Motorsports as she transitioned from a reasonably successful IndyCar career – which included that ground-breaking win at Motegi in 2008. Yet despite access to strong equipment with Stewart-Haas Racing and becoming the first woman to start on pole for a NASCAR Cup race – at the 2013 Daytona 500, no less – Patrick’s promise fizzled out without a win and she quit the sport completely in 2018.
