Despite Her Infamous Reputation, Hailie Deegan Insists “I Enjoy Clean Racing”

Paul Tracy’s suspension has drawn many eyes toward the SRX Series. After an eventful affair at Strafford last week, the 2003 CART champion will not be allowed to race in the Series again until further notice. The victims of his multi-car wreck were Ken Schrader, Hailie Deegan, and Indy 500 victor Josef Newgarden. Deegan has not thrown any shade on Tracy as of such and has accepted the course of events as they occurred.

Appearing as a guest on the popular podcast Rubbin is Racing, she explains her feelings toward the crash. Elaborating on the multiple factors that work behind the scenes, she sheds light on how impactful such accidents could be for a recently formed series like SRX.

“I’m not complaining”: Hailie Deegan on the suspension of Paul Tracy

Co-host of the podcast, Large, has a straightforward question for Hailie about the crash. “Are you cool with him (Tracy) being banned?”, he asks.

So far, Hailie hasn’t shown any tendency towards anger like Ken Schrader. Schrader was boiling with fury after the crash and said he would not race again in the tourney if Tracy was allowed to race. ” I mean, I’m not complaining.” says the 22-year-old prodigy.

“Sure, it sucks from his side, and if I was in his position and I went like that, I wouldn’t be happy about it. But I mean, I enjoy clean racing. I enjoy racing hard but still making it clean.”

But Deegan has had her fair share of crashes this season. Her Craftsman Truck Series campaign has not gone how she would have liked it to. On the other hand, she has also been the focal point of some of those. A violent crash at Gateway with Nick Sanchez just when she hoped to edge into the top 10 was harsh on her. But last month’s race at Nashville had her confronting Lawless Alan after their tussle on the track. Well, her season did begin with a crash at Daytona to start with. This has been a pattern for her this season as she sits at 19th with 277 points.

Clean racing hasn’t exactly been her forte this season.

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Deegan emphasizes on the impact of crashes on the series

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The series has been marred with mechanical failures this season. Ryan Preece and Tony Kanaan suffered at the hands of brake fades and missed out on potential podium places at Strafford. Tracy was also one of the drivers who faced this problem. As for the rest of the grid, many complained that they had to be conservative with their approach to ensure they finish the race. Despite attracting a host of stars, it has not delivered up to some drivers’ expectations.

“There’s a lot of money invested into that series, it’s a new series.” continues Hailie.

“They got no new partners. They don’t have as many cars to be able to go. It’s not like there are backup cars for every single person they are on the road for six weeks straight and they have to bring a certain amount of cars to every race and they don’t really plan on coming back home to North Carolina to rebuild cars. So when they have to go do that, it’s a lot of work.”

Last week when Tony Stewart was asked about the mechanical issues, he looked frustrated at the question denying any information about the garage side of things. Well, a tricky situation for the team owner to get into. Deegan has some consideration for the effort that goes behind making such cars ready for a race as she explains their plight.

“I hate it for the guys that have to put in hours and after-hours work to get those cars ready because junking them is just not cool for them.”

A reasonable demand from the 22-year-old. What remains to be seen now, is how the addition of Johnny Benson Jr ahead at Berlin Raceway unfolds on Thursday.

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