Hailie Deegan has been making a name for herself in the NASCAR Truck Series of late and she is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. The 22-year-old is the daughter of motorsports athlete Brian Deegan and is a master of the dirt track. Hailie has always been one to try out new racing experiences as she has driven in a number of races and events apart from the Truck Series. She recently raced in a compact car in the Compact Series in Sandusky, Ohio, the home of her Truck Series team, ThorSport Racing.
In a recent video released on YouTube, Hailie recorded her experience in the race which saw her start eighth and finish fifth. It was an eventful race for Deegan, who was excited before the start as it was on a track near her Truck Series team’s shop. It was a short track, the kind that usually sees high-intensity racing as the cars are usually quite close to one another.
“This Field Is Stacked” – Hailie Deegan on Compact Series Race
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Ahead of the race, Deegan recorded herself and she was visibly excited and raring to go at this new racing opportunity. She described the phone call she received a few months ago asking her if she would be interested in racing in a compact car race, to which her response was “hell yeah.”
“We are currently about a football field away from my race shop, ThorSport Racing in Sandusky, Ohio. Well if any of you know, in Sandusky, right next to the race shop, which you probably don’t but you’re gonna know today, is that there is a small speedway, a small circle track. And the series that is racing in Sandusky today is the Compact Series,” Deegan said.
News of Deegan’s participation in the race drew a lot of attention as it turned into an event of a fairly large scale. The 22-year-old said that there were already a lot of people coming to witness the race and that the field comprised a whopping 45 cars.
“I was like hell yeah, count me in, so they turned it into a big event. I think it’s awesome. I know there’s a bunch of fans coming out already, a bunch of cars. There are 45 compact cars, I’m like damn! This field is stacked,” she added.
The NASCAR Truck Series driver had a great performance in the race as she started in eighth place and finished in fifth. It was a great performance considering that she literally had to deal with a fire in her car before the end of the race and still managed to finish in the top five.
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Deegan’s Car Caught on Fire Before the End of the Race
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Towards the latter stages, the race was red-flagged due to an on-track incident. By this point, Deegan’s car’s front-right rotor had caught on fire. While she was coming to a halt, the fans gathered at the venue brought the fire to Hailie and her crew’s attention. They made swift work of the problem, but it made for a memorable moment in the race.
As Hailie’s crew members were readying to douse the flame, she asked if there was a fire extinguisher. Before confirming what was being used on the fire, Deegan insisted multiple times to her crew members to aim the extinguisher away from her, only to find out that they had only used water.
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“Do not hit me with the fire extinguisher. Aim it that way. Aim it that way,” she exclaimed.
“No, it’s water! it’s water it’s water,” said a crew member.
After the problem was taken care of, another member of her crew turned towards the camera, recording everything from the outside of the car, and said, “The right front rotor was on fire so he squirted a little water on her.”
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Despite the issues she faced during the race, Deegan’s fifth-place finish was a highly impressive record considering that she was driving a car that she probably had not driven a lot before. Her skills are only improving and there is no doubt that Hailie Deegan will soon be in the Xfinity Series as a full-timer, and then the Cup.
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