NASCAR sensation Hailie Deegan was confirmed as the new Ford Performance development driver and will combine multiple series in her 2020.
Young NASCAR star Hailie Deegan signed a deal as new Ford Performance development driver and will join the DGR-Crosley team in the upcoming 2020 season.
As announced last week, the team owned by NASCAR veteran David Gilliland switched from Toyota Racing to Ford Performance machinery but the news that all fans expected only arrived on December 17th, when DGR-Crosley made public to have signed Hailie Deegan as official driver, competing full time in the next ARCA Menards Series season.
Thanks to the Ford sponsorship, Deegan will also compete in selected events of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at the wheel of a Mustang GT4 with Multimatic Motorsport team.
"It became clear quickly that I align with the Ford Performance vision of driver development and our shared drive to win. It is also axtra special to get to race with Ford, a family company, that already had ties to my family. Growing up watching my dad race a Ford, and now to be able to do the same thing is very cool" - said Deegan.
This marks a big opportunity for the Californian lady, but will put under the spotlight a prestigious brand which is aware of the potential of one of the most important up-and-coming names of the entire American motor racing scene.
"Our goal is to put her on a path to realize our shared goal of winning championships and part of that is gaining experience on tracks such as road courses and superspeedways. We feel this year will serve as a good foundation for what lies ahead"- said Ford Performance Motorsports global director Mark Rushbrook.
With this agreement, Hailie Deegan concluded on a high an impressive 2019 season, where she was able to finish third in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings, bringing home two victories, three pole positions, eight top-five and eleven top-ten finishes in 14 races.
During the year, Deegan also competed as part-time driver in six ARCA Menards Series with the fifth final place obtained at Lucas Oil Raceway as best personal result.
"It's important to me to be teamed up with a hardworking group such as DGR-Crosley with like-minded visions and goals. We are all committed to working as hard as it takes to finish on top."
"I look forward to the upcoming season and learning as much as possible to get me closer to accomplishing my goals of winning races" - said Deegan about her new 2020 squad.
January 3rd 2020 will be Deegan's first time inside the Mustang GT4, as the 18-year old will take part in the IMSA Roar Before 24 test session at Daytona International Speedway.
She will make her seasonal debut in the Michelin Pilot Challenge on January 24th and will start the ARCA Menards 2020 campaign on February 8th on the very same track.
In Hailie's words:
"It's important to me to be teamed up with a hardworking group such as DGR-Crosley with like-minded visions and goals."
Ph credits: ARCA Menards Series