Hailie Deegan secured a 16th place finish in Saturday’s Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway. Making her debut in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, Hailie ran as high as second during a round of green-flag pit stops and spent a good majority of 46 laps out of 134 inside the top 15.
Albeit in her rookie season in the ARCA Menards Series, she was coming into the Truck Series with strong performances of 4 Top-5s and 17 Top-10s, 86 laps lead, and 7.3 average finish. Thanks to her impressive run, she found herself third in points after Bret Holmes and Michael Self.
The 19-year-old also took to social media to reveal the look of her car.
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Can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this @Ford F-150 at @kansasspeedway 🔥 pic.twitter.com/S7gPb88kWv
— Hailie Deegan (@HailieDeegan) October 10, 2020
On what she felt about the race coming from ARCA Racing, she said, “It’s crazy compared to ARCA Racing how intense the racing is, how competitive it is.”
“You’re trying to block and one guy would pass the other, next thing you know you’ve got two guys blowing by you if you don’t make a successful pass,” she added.
Hailie Deegan’s finish was the best by a female driver on debut
While Hailie Deegan had a personal goal to end in the Top 15, she brought the No. 17 F-150 home 16th. The finish officially breaks the record for the highest finish by a female driver on debut in the Series. Previously held by Johanna Long with her 17th place finish in July 2010, which is now Lucas Oil Raceway.
Talking about it post-race, she said, “I think my goal was to just finish the race. It’s a lot tougher racing, but I think we definitely had a successful day.”
She also mentioned that having a solid debut was also about avoiding a few bad situations on the track.
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Welcome to the @NASCAR_Trucks, @HailieDeegan! Deegan's P.16 finish is the best result for a female in her series debut. pic.twitter.com/eChqzFpnq3
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 17, 2020
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Hailie has clearly stated her desire to race full-time in Trucks. During the race, the hashtag #TruckinInto2021, on the rear panel of her truck was an announcement of her full-time deal for 2021 when the Truck Series becomes the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series again. She will compete for the Rookie Of The Year honors driving the No.17 Ford.