Hailie Deegan’s rookie attempt in the Xfinity Series was nothing short of a nightmare. After three years of full-time racing, she found a ride with AM Racing in 2024, but after 17 races, the team decided to pull the plug on this partnership. At the time, a lot of people pointed fingers at the 23-year-old driver as the sole reason for the downfall of the #15 team.

Since then, a total of six drivers have shared the duties of the #15 Ford car in the Xfinity Series. While Hailie Deegan’s inexperience was evident from her performances, the number comparison paints a rather different picture. One that raises a question mark on AM Racing’s program and setup for the 2024 season.

AM Racing didn’t have the resources to aid Hailie Deegan’s debut run

Deegan’s journey before entering NASCAR’s top series is more than that of just an average race car driver.

• In the K&N Pro West Series racing for Bill McAnally Racing, she won her first race in 2018, scripting history at Meridan Speedway.
• Deegan became the first female driver to notch a win in the series; this was followed up by two more wins in her second year with the team.
• This good run was also reflected in her first full-time run in the ARCA Menards Series in 2020. She made a jump from TRD to a less crowded Ford camp, and it proved to be a successful one as he registered eleven top 10 finishes, along with four top 5 results. Helping her finish 3rd in overall standings.

But, during her three years at the Truck Series level, she wasn’t able to break through the ranks. Then came the surprise move to compete in the Xfinity Series, one that was questioned by a lot of her critics. While the predictions about her debut run did come true, the dip in the performance wasn’t entirely on her shoulders. This is evident if we look at the statistical comparison of the #15 team’s performances after Deegan departed from the team.

Kyle Dalton, while speaking on his show Beating & Banging, presented the numbers comparison of the #15 team’s run with and without Deegan. “In her 17 races with the team. Deegan registered an average finishing position of 26.82. Since her departure at AM Racing, the car has run a dozen races and been piloted by six drivers, including 2-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano and Cup rookie Josh Berry. The average finishing position over that spin is 26.25, or just slightly better than Deegan.”

Matter of fact, if we are to take out Joey Logano’s races with the team in three races, this number dips down significantly. “Taking Logano and his three races out of the mix, including his 8th at Chicago and 9th at Watkins Glen and the average finishing position of the car bumps up to 28.88, or notably worse than Deegan’s average,” Dalton added.

While there were rumors about Hailie Deegan scripting a comeback in the Xfinity Series next year, she completely switched lanes to open-wheel racing.

Will Deegan follow in the footsteps of Danica Patrick?

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Despite the failure of her big call to move into the Xfinity Series, Deegan has once again embarked on a new challenge. This time around she’s taking up open-wheel racing, competing in the INDY NXT series, a tier 2 racing series similar to that of Xfinity in NASCAR. Deegan will drive the No. 38 entry for a full 14-race calendar year.

She dropped a hint about her next racing move as she hopped inside a Formula 3 race car in August. But no one could’ve expected Deegan’s move to Indy Car. Sharing her excitement about stepping into the new world of competitive racing, she said, “I have much to learn, but I am ready to go. The team brings a wealth of knowledge for me to pull from, and I look forward to soaking up as much of that as possible before my race debut next March in St. Petersburg.”

There’s no doubting Deegan’s racing talent despite her struggles at the Xfinity levels. Maybe a change in the scenery is what she needed, and switching gears to Indy Car just might do the trick for her.