Hailie Deegan’s Comments ‘Baffle’ Tony Stewart’s Prodigy: “Am I Not Allowed?”

In her Xfinity Series debut at Talladega, Hailie Deegan placed a career-best P12 as the fourth-highest finishing Ford at the Ag-Pro 300. On a day that saw Chevy clinch top finishes, Deegan was disappointed in failing to ensure a top-10 finish amidst the battle of the underdogs. 

Surprisingly, AM Racing’s #15 team’s radio chatter revealed Deegan’s frustrations towards Stewart-Haas rookie and fellow Ford driver, Riley Herbst. The big issue? Herbst making big passes and not helping Deegan on the final lap for a winning push. Now Herbst has broken radio silence to state his opinions over the seemingly unwarranted criticisms he faces.

Riley Herbst claps back at Hailie Deegan for Talladega frustrations

At the onset of the Ag-Pro 300, Hailie Deegan qualified in P31 while Riley Herbst’s #98 SHR Mustang started from the eighth spot. After pole-winner Austin Hill and race-winner Jesse Love swept both stages for Richard Childress Racing, Herbst and Deegan found themselves within the top 10 competing cars on the final overtime restart.

However, Herbst hungry for his second Xfinity Series win made several crucial passes to get past eight other contenders for a season-best-yet P2 finish, while Deegan scored her own, ten spots down. But the situation in question here is when the #98 car rejected the #15’s invitation to bump-draft, expecting a push from behind. Herbst then just followed to cut to the outside lane and sped past Deegan. This brought about frustrations amongst the #15 camp and Deegan. Even Denny Hamlin spoke out recently on Actions Detrimental over how Herbst should’ve just ‘pushed’ his Ford Performance colleague.

But before his Dover advance, the 25-year-old prodigy for Tony Stewart’s race team had an integral question for his critics. “I’ve heard everybody’s opinions… I just don’t understand. Am I not allowed to pass people on a green-white-checkered?” Herbst said as per NBC Sports. Understandably ‘baffled’ by the recent unravelings, the #98 driver explained, “I don’t think if I would have pushed her I’d had a better opportunity to win… if you look on the (final) lap, I did the same thing with the 21 car (Austin Hill) through (Turns) 3 and 4, so it just wasn’t really her.”

Regardless, Deegan also understandably upset, expressed her emotions in a YouTube video before her Xfinity Series debut at Dover this Saturday.

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The first female driver to win races in the ARCA West Series was hungry for a victory at Talladega after starting fourth on the final restart. In her vlog she said, “I was hanging by myself in the second row and just waiting and waiting. I just got left dry a little bit.” Hailie Deegan explained that finishing lower than her restart position is what upset her so much.

Looking towards the future, both competitors will get another chance to script an inaugural victory at Dover, letting go of all past frustrations in Alabama. Moreover, after finishing second, Herbst will be one of the four participants for the final Dash 4 Cash $100,000 prize this season, alongside Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, and Jesse Love.

In an official statement to Speedway Digest, Herbst appeared focused for his seventh Xfinity Series start at the ‘Monster Mile.’ He said, “Dover is such a difficult track to navigate, but for a driver, it can be fun. You have to stay out of trouble in order to be there at the end. Honestly, it’s about being patient, which I’ve struggled with in the past. It’s a good skill to learn at these difficult tracks because you have to know when to pass and when not to.”

With the A-Game 200 on April 27th, these circumstantial rivals may get their shot at redemption, or even a debut 2024 Xfinity Series victory at Dover Motor Speedway.