“It’s Not Time Yet”- Opportunistic Hailie Deegan Exploits Teammate’s Fall to Break Free From Truck Series Curse

Saturday’s Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway was an eventful affair. The Love’s RV Stop 250 witnessed various developments over the track. From a multi-car crash to a bloody nose, the race satisfied all types of audiences. For ThorSport Racing, it was a weekend of mixed feelings. While underperforming star Hailie Deegan got into action, securing a P8 finish, her teammate and veteran Matt Crafton found himself in a violent fight after the race.

The results end Deegan’s string of poor finishes in the Truck Series. That has been a typical pattern for female drivers this season. Before Talladega, she had crossed the finish line before P10 only once in 2023. However, en route to doing that, she had to trounce her teammate Crafton, who fell victim to an unlucky contact with Nick Sanchez.

Hailie Deegan is exuberant after second time top-10 finish in 2023

Many factors can be attributed to this abysmal season for Hailie Deegan. Mechanical issues have been at the forefront of it. However, her transition to the Truck Series has been incomplete so far. The 22-year-old has found it tough to adjust to a robust driving style, which is prevalent. Originally a Toyota dealer, her move to ThorSport forced a switch to the #13 Ford F-150, which could be a possible reason for her struggles.

Speaking to Frontstretch reporter Wyatt Watson in a post-race interview, Hailie had her crew’s execution to praise for her performance. Building on short-term goals is an efficient way of adjusting easily to the expectations set for her. With Crafton being a former champion and a seasoned veteran of the sport, the onus falls on her to deliver the goods.

“My crew chief, I had to make him a believer of it and we were about 30-35 to go and he’s like ‘Okay, should we start going here’? I’m like ‘It’s too early not yet.’ “, continued Hailie. “So we didn’t end up going. We came downstairs but I said tires on, put some fuel in it, let’s give it two more laps of us after we go green. Let’s see how it plays out. There’s a caution right away, and I was like, “I told you guys, it’s not time yet.”

“Overall, we had a plan going into this race and we executed it perfectly to what we wanted to do.” claimed Hailie. “I think that when we look at last year how I did here, I kind of went in with the same plan. I hung back already and was able to be there at the end so I was like, ‘Man I haven’t had good luck on Superspeedways my whole truck career’. So that worked out for me one time I was like, ‘Let’s just try to do it again.’ I got everyone onboard with it.”

Feedback from the driver is essential on the journey of improvement. Drivers can dictate their readiness for the obstacle present in front of them after a careful assessment. The tussle between Crafton and Sanchez on the track created a huge opening for many drivers to take advantage of 10 cars involved in the crash, which meant it was too big of an opportunity for drivers to not capitalize on. Hailie did exactly that. However, the timing of their pit stops is what helped them with that.

Read More: Hailie Deegan’s Truck Distress Worsens As ThorSport Racing Leaves Star Driver Out To Dry

Hailie laid the carpet for a strong outing at Talladega

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Coming off a 17th-place finish at Texas, things worsened for her after she lost a favorable pit selection at Homestead Miami due to missing a pre-race truck inspection. Had her truck been one of those that suffered at the hands of the multi-car wreck, things would have been a bit more concerning. Continuing her interview, as it moved ahead, Hailie explained what it took out of her to convince her team of the plan.

“My crew chief, I had to make him a believer of it and we were about 30-35 to go and he’s like ‘Okay, should we start going here’? I’m like ‘It’s too early not yet.’ “, continued Hailie. “So we didn’t end up going. We came downstairs but I said tires on, put some fuel in it, let’s give it two more laps of us after we go green. Let’s see how it plays out. There’s a caution right away, and I was like, “I told you guys, it’s not time yet.”

The “Big One” crash came in the 93rd lap with only two laps left to complete the race. With 10 cars out of contention, the remaining drivers made haste to improve their position. The consequent green flag of resumption was the sign that triggered it all.

Watch This Story: Hailie Deegan’s NASCAR Journey: a Tale of Triumph and Tribulation

Elaborating on their game plan after the flag, she said, “Then we ended up going back green with about 10 laps to go I think, I was in 11th. I was like we’re right in the position I want to be in. Same exact field as last year so, overall I think we executed perfectly and we did what we needed to do.” With rumors of a move to Xfinity Series next season, Hailie Deegan will need to get the better of her blues undoubtedly. Consistent results are just the first step to it.