“Not Many Opportunities Come Unless You Got Deep Pockets”: Hailie Deegan Reveals Bitter Truth About NASCAR Racing After Indy Move

Hailie Deegan bid adieu to NASCAR mid-season during her inaugural full-time Xfinity campaign, prompted partly by being sidelined for a race in favor of Joey Logano, and partly due to a shortfall in sponsorship necessary to secure a premier ride and further her career. She subsequently shifted her focus to IndyNXT.

When recently queried about her potential return to NASCAR, Deegan clarified her stance with characteristic sincerity, stating, “I’m not actively trying to look for a ride or anything, but if a couple of million dollars falls in my lap, awesome.”

She elaborated on the financial barriers inherent to the sport, remarking, “Not many opportunities come unless you got deep pockets. I think a lot of people fail to realize that on the NASCAR side of things, it is such a crazy number.”

Deegan quipped, “So if $6 million to run for a quality Xfinity team just came out of nowhere, fell off a tree, for sure I’d do it. But the reality of things is in this economy right now, sponsorship and marketing budgets have been cut. It makes it a lot tougher. It’s already tough to find money to go racing.”

Hailie emphasized the difficulty in assuring sponsors of the value of their hefty investments because the dynamics of a race are unpredictable and outcomes uncertain.

She further expressed frustration about the challenge of convincing sponsors of a surefire return on their investment. Over her three seasons in the Truck Series, despite competing in 69 races, Deegan managed to secure only five top-ten finishes. Her stint in Xfinity was also marred by an inability to match the performance of the better-financed teams.

When Deegan blamed practice sessions for her on-track performance

Speaking on Dirty Mo Media’s Speed Street, Deegan discussed the impact of reduced practice sessions and qualifications on her debut season and subsequent year, attributing much of her struggle to an abrupt adjustment in the norm brought on by the pandemic:

“On the NASCAR side, it’s so lacking of seat time getting ready for races like I was a victim of the whole COVID deal where practice and qualifying was X’ed out my first year of Trucks.”

She further illustrated the disparity in preparation between her NASCAR and IndyNXT experiences by noting that during her four full-time years in NASCAR, she accumulated roughly 21 hours of practice, whereas, before her first IndyNXT event alone, she was afforded 31 hours — a glaring difference in prep time between the two sports.