Hailie Deegan is facing a challenging time in her career. AM Racing parted ways with Deegan, the only female driver with a full-time ride in NASCAR’s three national series, ahead of the Chicago Street Race last weekend. She was replaced by a seasoned driver behind the wheel as her performances weren’t up to the mark. But one of our favorite voices in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr, feels there is more to this story. 

Often touted to be the sport’s next Danica Patrick, she moved up from Truck Series to drive for AM Racing in Xfinity, this year. But the ride has been anything but smooth for her.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. frustrated with Hailie Deegan’s situation

Hailie Deegan’s departure from AM Racing doesn’t come as a surprise, considering her challenging time at Xfinity. She had merely scored four finishes inside the top 20 and none inside the top 10, with 17 races in. Moreover, Deegan had also finished P20 or worse in eight consecutive starts. As a result, AM Racing brought in Joey Logano for the Chicago Street Race, and that got the alarm bells ringing. 

All was certainly not well and then came the announcement. AM Racing posted, “AM Racing and Hailie Deegan have decided to part ways, effective immediately.” Most attribute her fall in Xfinity to her rapid rise in the sport, pointing fingers at her famous last name and familial connection. Dale Earnhardt Jr too agrees that her wanting to venture to the top series far too soon has been what led to this situation. In his podcast, he emphasized how crucial it is for inexperienced drivers to meet the milestones before taking the next step haphazardly. 

Junior said on the ‘Dale Jr. Download’ podcast, “Hailie is a product of a very challenging system. This is the same for a lot of drivers that I’ve worked with, and a lot of drivers that I’ve seen, that work their way from, whether it be racing at Millbridge, to late-models, super-late-models, to Truck and Xfinity opportunities that eventually come along.”

According to him, it’s not entirely on Deegan because drivers more often than not, feel the pressure to accept opportunities that are hard to come by. He feels that’s what happened to her, and that she was compelled to take the chance at Xfinity with the belief that she would perform better with those cars.

He said, “What happens is, there’s a bit of an urgency to try and move up and take the very next available opportunity, at the next level, because the support financially is not forever, and you do not know when that finally dries up or whatever reason, you lose that financial support. So every rung on the ladder that develops above you, whether it’s the Truck Series or Xfinity Series, no matter how good or bad that rung is, you grab it.”

Deegan worked her way up to Xfinity via Short-Course Off-Road and ARCA. In her first season driving in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in 2018, she scored her first win at Meridian Speedway in Idaho. She went on to capture two more checkered flags in the 2019 season making her the only female to have won races in the K&N Pro Series to date.

She then joined Ford’s driver development program and finished third in the 2020 ARCA national series standings driving for team owner David Gilliland.  She ran in a Gilliland truck for 2021-22 and then for ThorSport in 2023.

During her three seasons with Truck, there weren’t significant improvements but she decided to move to the Xfinity Series and give it a shot. AM Racing, a relatively new team took the gamble but as it turns out, it didn’t pay off for either of them. Dale also believes that even though she took the chance to race in Xfinity, the opportunity might not have been have been right for her.

He added, “I think that she felt like, ‘Man, I’ve really got to take this. This is being presented to me, and I’ve got to take it. It’s Xfinity, I think I’ll fit those cars better. I think I’ll do a better job in this series.’ She took it, when it might not have been the opportunity she should’ve chosen.”

But that being said, Dale Jr. did applaud Deegan for her past achievements and said that she could very well carve out her way when something right comes along. He believes she could be a good contender for the Xfinity or the Truck series but he remained hesitant about the cup, as that, to him, is a “whole other beast”.

But Dale Earnhardt Jr isn’t the only one shouldering off all the blame from Deegan. Another NASCAR insider was recently up and candid about it.

“It’s not on Hailie,” says NASCAR insider Freddie Kraft

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While having a career spurt seems to be the reason for Deegan’s downfall, there is another perspective that Bubba Wallace’s Spotter brought forth, and it does make sense. According to Freddie Kraft, not having the right guidance or an experienced mentor was a major reason for Hailie Deegan’s struggles in Xfinity. 

According to him, Brett Moffitt, who was with the AM Racing team, should have not been let go. Instead, he should have been retained and that would have helped Deegan plenty, given that she was inexperienced.

He said, “You can’t build a program around an inexperienced driver. You don’t know if your cars have speed if your driver doesn’t have any experience at the track you’re going to. So if obviously money is a big factor in this, but if there was a way to have Brett and Hailie there, I think it would have only benefited Hailie. But unfortunately, it wasn’t the case.”

He also very subtly bashed the team for doing a trial-and-error method and experimenting with their runs with Hailie Deegan this season. According to Kraft, this performance lack is not on Deegan. He explained, “She’s a talented race car driver. This is not on Hailie either.” And that might be true, that it might not be all Deegan because their car doesn’t seem as fast either.

We all saw a two-time champion Joey Logano make it to only the 8th position at Chicago, so they seem to have an issue with the car, and even the mechanical failures are a testament. 

After Joey Logano, now Josh Berry is all set to take the wheel of the #15, and it remains to be seen what results he gets out of the car in Pocono. For Deegan, she will have to reassess her options and perhaps opt for a team with strong structure who will develop her with their support and offer a chance to prove herself.

But who do you think is more at fault here, Hailie Deegan or AM Racing?