When Hailie Deegan became the first woman to win a race in the ARCA Menards West Series in 2018, her trajectory projected nothing but success in NASCAR. Soon enough, the California native found herself thrown into the deep end of the sport’s top categories. This is when the cookie started to crumble. After 69 races in four years in the Truck Series, Deegan graduated to the Xfinity Series without a single win and only five top ten.

Fast-forward to 2024, and her first full-time Xfinity Series campaign appears to have fallen off its trajectory just halfway through the season. With announcements of her crew chief parting ways with AM Racing, is Hailie Deegan’s only other constant supporter also on its last limbs?

Ford’s everlasting support for Hailie Deegan fails to yield returns

Ever since Hailie Deegan stepped into the big leagues in 2021, Ford Performance backed her campaign. Through their partnership with ThorSport Racing, Ford provided their development driver with an ideal platform to develop, something not every NASCAR driver has access to. That being said, the manufacturer also played a major part in securing Deegan’s future in the Xfinity Series with their partner, AM Racing.

With Ford Performance’s global director, Mark Rushbrook deeming their journey with Deegan so far as an ‘interesting road’, it’s safe to say the pressure has been on the Xfinity rookie to deliver this season. Add to that Stewart-Haas Racing’s exit next season, and Ford is heavily reliant on AM Racing to bring in better results. However, after half of the 2024 season has surpassed, Deegan finds herself at the very tail end of the full-time grid.

With Ford failing to see any major progress with AM Racing, their recent crew chief announcement may raise concerns for the manufacturer.  The team released a statement that read, “Effective today, AM Racing has parted ways with Joe Williams, the crew chief on Hailie Deegan’s number 15 Mustang. AM Racing’s competition director, Matt Lucas, will step in as interim crew chief for this weekend’s race at Portland and next weekend at Sonoma.”

With how Deegan has been performing lately, this news came as no surprise to some fans and insiders. In his latest video, Eric Estepp pulled no punches against the situation AM Racing and Deegan have put themselves in. He stated, “There’s not much else to say it’s unfortunate but Hailie Deegan just really isn’t relevant anymore. She showed no statistical improvement in her three years in trucks and her first year in Xfinity is, I guess, about what we all expected. It’s not good.” 

So far this season, Hailie Deegan hasn’t finished in the top ten in a single race. With an average starting position of 27th and an average finishing position of 25.5, Deegan’s results haven’t reflected greatly on Ford and AM Racing. Whilst Estepp gave Hailie Deegan credit for her aggressive mentality, he felt the team was running out of excuses to make for such results.

Speaking of which, Estepp highlighted how SHR’s departure leaves AM Racing as Ford’s primary contender in the Xfinity Series. If Hailie Deegan’s side is already falling apart with the crew chief exit, is the OEM’s future in Xfinity uncertain? Estepp added, “Will another team switch to Ford and step up in a big way? I mean something like that will need to happen because otherwise, Ford’s future in that series is on life support.” 

After looking at the ongoing situation at AM Racing, it’s safe to say Hailie Deegan isn’t in the best position. With Ford’s teams in the Xfinity Series failing to bring home solid results, AM Racing is hoping the crew chief change makes a difference. With that being said, animosity seems to be building between fans of the Xfinity team and Hailie Deegan.

‘Crew chief isn’t the problem’ Fans pull no punches against AM Racing for favoring Hailie Deegan

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When Joe Williams was appointed as Hailie Deegan’s crew chief at the end of last season, expectations were sky-high from Brett Moffitt’s former mentor. The veteran crew chief had helped Moffitt score nine top-ten finishes and one top-five finish in 2023. So when Williams failed to help Deegan bring in a single top ten, let alone a top five this season, many fans believed it was not the veteran crew chief’s mistake.

Instead, users pulled no punches against Hailie Deegan’s lackluster form. One fan shared, “Unfortunately, I don’t think the crew chief was the problem… but I hope it turns around soon. I want her to be successful.” Whereas another added, “Fired the wrong Person. Should’ve fired Hailie”

Reflecting on Joe Williams’ ability to help AM Racing become a prime Xfinity contender in 2022 and 2023, users felt the variable was Hailie Deegan. Another fan was frustrated with the loss of Williams; “Let go of one of the most underrated crew chiefs in the game…Looking forward to seeing him thrive again in a different environment.” Others also empathized with the crew chief’s fate; “He probably said there was nothing he could do to make her win because he’s not a magician.”

It’s safe to say a lot of the fan reception at AM Racing had turned against Deegan after this season’s ordeal. Through her four years in the Truck Series, Deegan had failed to impress several NASCAR fans who doubted her move to the Xfinity Series. And now, it was those very doubters having the last laugh. To sum things up, a user concluded; “I don’t think the problem is the crew chief. Why was she moved up? She didn’t have the hang of the trucks yet. What made anyone think she would do better here?” 

With all the stars turning against Hailie Deegan in her full-time Xfinity debut, it remains to be seen if AM Racing turns things around in time.