Exclusive: “It’s Always Good to Have Girls in Our Sport” – Joe Gibbs’ Underdog Vouches for Unlucky Hailie Deegan

Although Joe Gibbs Racing is doing a decent job in the Cup series, their Xfinity team is having a tough time. Pocono, however, could be a turning point for them with their No. 18 driver, Sheldon Creed, starting on the pole. The 26-year-old has attained the second pole of his career, and now the question remains: will he translate that into a win?

Before the qualifiers, EssentiallySports, having partnered with Real American Beer, was able to get an exclusive interview with Sheldon Creed to hear his thoughts on one of NASCAR’s most discussed stories. Interestingly, while Creed himself is looking for his first Xfinity win of his career, he still put Hailie Deegan under the spotlight for being the Unlucky Dog in NASCAR.

Sheldon Creed hopes that Hailie Deegan finds a spot in Xfinity

It has been a while since Hailie Deegan and her team AM Racing officially announced their plans to part ways. Since then, the NASCAR nation has heard countless takes on the matter- Some blame Deegan for her bland runs, while some think her team did not provide her with the right resources. But, amidst all the chatter, what we haven’t heard is: What is next for the 22-year-old?

Naturally, no one wants to be in such an uncertain place in their life. And Sheldon Creed probably knows this better than most as he went through something similar just last year. In October 2023, Sheldon Creed, the then-driver for Richard Childress Racing, found himself at the center of controversy after a clash with Austin Hill knocked both drivers out of contention for the Xfinity championship. This earned the wrath of team owner Richard Childress, who chided Creed, calling him “stupid” for his actions. By then, Creed’s move to JGR was known to all and Creed left his team saying, “I’ve been happy. We’ve had OK runs, but I felt like it was time for a change for me just to switch things up a bit.”

Looking back at this, it seems Creed can empathize with Deegan right now, and that frankly was pretty evident from what he told us during a recent exclusive interview at Pocono. Bharat Aggarwal of EssentiallySports asked Creed, “Who do you think is the unlucky dog of NASCAR?” To this, he responded, “Gosh, I don’t know. Right now, Hailie Deegan, hopefully, but I don’t know. She’s had a good ride, but has gotten pushed out a bit recently. I’d say whoever that is.” 

Hearing Creed take Deegan’s name over any other driver, our team stated, “We think Ross Chastain has had pretty bad luck this year.” However, Creed didn’t seem convinced as he asked back, “You’d say he’s the unlucky dog?” Staying true to his stance, he continued, “I just think it was supposed to work out a lot better than it did for her. I’d love to see her get another opportunity at Trucks or Xfinity. I think it’s always good to have girls in our sport, so hopefully that comes full circle and works out for her.” 

In case you missed it, earlier this weekend, our team at EssentiallySports had a similar conversation with the Melon Man himself. During the conversation, Chastain admitted that he used to be the Lucky Dog. But more recently, it seems he could use some luck. Now, coming back to Hailee Deegan, even Dale Earnhardt Jr talked along similar lines and opined how the 22-year-old lacks enough support.

“Hailie would probably be better off with a team that has some foundation underneath it, that’s been a team. That’s had these types of drivers come in. That knows what they need … almost knows how to handle these inexperienced, young drivers, and how to protect them,” Earnhardt said. Deegan, who started her full-time Xfinity career this year, hasn’t had the greatest debut. In 17 races, she reached the Top 15 just twice, with her last five finishes being P33, P32, P25, P32, and P28.

However, despite such dismal results, Junior believes Deegan could become an “accomplished racer” if given the chance. “I think that she absolutely should pursue more opportunities in either Truck or Xfinity Series. I believe she should and I think that in a good scenario, in the right situation, she could actually turn into quite an accomplished racer at some level,” he opined. For now, though, those chances look slim at best.

Do you think Hailie Deegan will find a new team for 2025? Maybe she should consider going back to the Truck series. What’s your opinion on this?