The 2024 NASCAR season has been nothing short of a nightmare for Hailie Deegan. Having made her name in the ARCA and the Craftsman Truck Series level, she made a big switch to AM Racing and made her Xfinity Series debut with the #15 team. But before she could even get comfortable in her seat and get the feel for racing amongst the best talent, AM Racing pulled the plug on their partnership.

After running only 17 races, Deegan’s rookie season attempt came to a screeching halt. This meant she had to find races and events to conclude the rest of the 2024 season. She turned her attention towards the Trans AM Racing events and participated in the All-Star race at Lime Rock Speedway. But the results were somewhat the same as she almost cut short Bobby Labonte’s day during the early laps.

This was only discovered after the video highlights of the race were made available online that took place back in July.

Hailie Deegan unable to shake off bad luck from NASCAR

The Speed Tour All-Star event driver’s line-up included some of the legendary racers from NASCAR and other racing series. Bobby Labonte, Greg Biffle, and Ken Schrader were among the teams participating in the event. This race requires a pairing of two drivers as they split the seat time during the race. Deegan partnered with Ben Maier, who has been making a name for himself in Nitro Rallycross Racing.

Hailie Deegan was the one who took command of #80 and started off the race. As everyone settled into their lap times after a frantic start, Bobby Labonte started to find his pace as he looked to climb further up the field. He soon ran into Deegan, who was trying her best to keep the former NASCAR champ off her back, but he wasn’t budging. Labonte then tried a beating and banging approach as he intensified his charge to make a pass, and guess what? His hard work and trickery paid off.

Seeing Labonte’s car grow bigger with every turn, Hailie Deegan got caught up in defending her position but lost her focus on what was happening in front of her. Trying to keep Labonte off her tail, she forced her race car into the grass and lost control. Slinging on the racetrack, she banged into the rear of the No. 69 race car driven by Davey Jones. Both the drivers were able to save their rides from sustaining damages and got back on track.

Well, Bobby Labonte got what he wanted and more. After Deegan went sideways, he had to check up, not once but twice. He weaved his way between the two racecars and was able to make a clean pass. This was something similar to the CARS movie, and the fans who turned up to watch the race loved this thriller on the racetrack. Although Labonte prevailed in his exploits, Deegan was left scratching her head after being forced into a mistake under pressure. Here are the highlights of race 1 where Hailie Deegan and Bobby Labonte battled it out at Lime Rock Speedway.

The good news for Hailie Deegan is that the 2024 season is about to close its curtains, and she has big plans for 2025. Ditching the stock car racing scene, she has now switched lanes to open-wheel racing and will look to redeem herself in the IndyNXT series, a second-tier developmental series of IndyCar.

Will Deegan’s move to open-wheel yield any positive results?

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Deegan’s decision to jump from NASCAR to IndyNXT is indeed a bold move. Partnering with HMD Motorsports, she is looking to reach the heights, something she couldn’t do at the NASCAR level. But with a different discipline of racing, come different challenges. In the open-wheel, the race cars are lighter and quicker; this forces the drivers to polish their technical abilities to pilot these race cars and emphasize adapting to the changing environment of different race tracks.

Now we all know fans and critics have voiced mixed opinions on Deegan’s move to jump ships to IndyCar. This moment is somewhat similar to her transition phase from the Trucks Series to the Xfinity level. Many believed that she wouldn’t be able to compete against the tough competitors in the series. While AM Racing themselves didn’t have the best racing program, Deegan looked out of place and, more times than not, finished races on the tail end of the field.

The good news for Deegan is that HMD Motorsports is known to develop young talent, and they have all the resources and expertise. Perhaps this new start will provide Deegan with a platform where she can reinvent herself as a racer. So it will be interesting to see how she fares in her debut attempt against seasoned open-wheel racers in 2025.