Once hailed as the female face of NASCAR’s future and an inspiration to many other young girls and women, Hailie Deegan’s future in the sport has come to a screeching halt. Her sudden departure from AM Racing has left the racing world wondering: What’s next for who was once the only woman competing in one of NASCAR’s high tiers?

The 23-year-old competed in the Truck Series for three years, driving the #17 DGR-Crosley(now, Tricon Garage) Ford, before making the jump to the Xfinity Series with SS-Green Light Racing. Yet, her performance was majorly underwhelming, with no wins, poles, or top-10 finishes in 17 races.

Veteran Kevin Harvick blames her lack of success in the sport on a single move, that completely changed the trajectory of her Truck and Xfinity Series career.

Harvick blames the move to Ford as the beginning of Deegan’s downfall

Daughter of motorsports legend Brian Deegan, Hailie had everything going for her when she came into the sport. A huge fan following off the track meant sponsorship opportunities were easy to come by, which made it a lot easier, relatively, for her to get opportunities that others couldn’t. She came up in the Toyota development system but made the jump to Ford after the conclusion of the 2019 season. According to Kevin Harvick, this was the beginning of her downfall and has led her into the position she finds herself in today.

As mentioned on Eric Estepp’s Youtube channel, Kevin Harvick said on the ‘Happy Hour’ podcast, “I don’t think that guidance and mentorship has been exactly what Deegan needed for NASCAR. The big mistake was getting out of the Toyota development system. I think Ford has the worst development program as far as their drivers go. I think Toyota has the best and Chevy is somewhere in the middle. Getting out of that Toyota development program with all the resources and they’re willing to give time.”

Harvick has been a long-time partner of Ford, having used their cars for seven years during his stint at Stewart-Haas Racing. The NASCAR Hall of Famer has been one of Deegan’s biggest allies, especially, in her early days when they raced wheel to wheel in a K&N Pro Series West race. So it goes without saying that Harvick, who has followed Deegan’s career closely, has a good understanding of where it all went wrong.

Hence, reiterating his point, he further said, “I think that she needed more time in the Truck Series, getting that guidance and mentorship she needed in order to develop what she needed to be a NASCAR race car driver. I think that she got pushed through too fast and wound up in the wrong development system for her to be successful. I think the moment she stepped outside of that Toyota development system, was a bad move.”

In 2019, Kevin Harvick had warned Hailie Deegan, even before she made her first start in a NASCAR national touring series race, by saying “What’s the hurry?”. Unfortunately, it seems like Deegan and her team paid no heed to Harvick’s advice. Not only did she need more time in the NASCAR Truck Series, they pushed her through the wrong system at Ford, which hampered her development as a racing driver.

A quick look at Deegan’s career trajectory does indicate that she may not have been ready for the Xfinity Series this year. Deegan’s Truck Series performance was modest at best, with finishes of 17th, 21st, and 19th in points over three seasons, with only one top-five finish and six top-ten results. She left the Toyota development program in just two years, despite the manufacturer having top teams across all three national series. With her dream to compete in the Cup Series at a standstill, her fans are wondering what’s next for the 23-year-old.

What’s next for Hailie Deegan?

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With unconvincing results in the Truck and Xfinity Series, Kevin Harvick believes that Hailie Deegan will find it difficult to get a seat in NASCAR’s three national series, despite her huge social media following. The 48-year-old said, “I think it’s going to be tough to get another chance. That’s going to be the hard part”.

With speculation about her future going around like wildfire, Deegan added more fuel to them by jokingly saying “screw stock car racing” while getting out of an open-wheel car. She was spotted at the IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway, igniting speculation that her future could be in open-wheel racing. While the racing community will keep a close eye on her next career move, Hailie Deegan hopes to recapture the potential that the world saw in her, particularly during her ARCA Menards Series West, when she won Rookie of the Year and when she secured three wins between 2018-2019.

Kevin Harvick had been right in warning Hailie Deegan in the past, and with the NASCAR Hall of Famer saying that she will find it difficult to make her way back into the sport, will he be proven right again? Only time will tell.