NASCAR star Hailie Deegan announced her full-time move to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, joining the ranks of AM Racing with a multi-year deal at the wheel of the #15 Ford Mustang.
NASCAR star Hailie Deegan will graduate from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to join the Xfinity Series, as the young Californian signed a multi-year deal with AM Racing for a full-time drive in the #15 Ford Mustang.
With two races to go in her 2023 campaign, Deegan will therefore conclude her three year stint in Trucks, rounding out the 23-race schedule with ThorSport Racing: aboard the #13 Ford F-150, Deegan scored 12 top-20 finishes and two top-ten results - at Texas Motors Speedway and Talladega respectively. With a P6 as personal best, she currently sits 19th in the drivers standings.
Deegan - who has been named as the most popular driver in NASCAR - will therefore return to Xfinity after making a one-off appearance in 2022, when she raced the #07 SS GreenLight Racing Ford Mustang at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to an outstanding 13th place, making up 7 positions from the start. Her performance was highly impressive and sparked speculations of a full-time move that would eventually come in 2024.
“I am excited about the opportunity to compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, starting next year with AM Racing,” said Deegan. “From the start, the team has been nothing but great to work with, and the vision that Wade has for the team to accomplish align with my values perfectly."
“Through the support of Ford and the AM Racing team, I feel that we will achieve great things together in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and I can’t wait to see what the next few years have in store for all of us.”
Hailie Deegan has been under the limelight since 2018, when she first competed in the ARCA Menards Series West championship. In her two seasons in the series, Deegan claimed three victories. She joined the Ford Performance Motorsports development programme in 2019 and has since then raced in stock cars - graduating to the ARCA Menards Series - trucks as well as sports cars, having entered selected races of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at the wheel of the Mustang GT4. She is also a stable presence on the Camping World SRX Series grid.
In 2020, Deegan collected seven top-five and 17 top-tens in the nationwide ARCA series, eventually finishing third in the championship standings - the highest result by a female driver in the series' history, which gained her Rookie of the Year honors.
The following season saw the Temecula-born racer stepping up to the NASCAR Truck Series - initially at David Gilliland Racing, before the move to the ThorSport squad.
Starting from the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, Deegan will join the ranks of AM Racing for the team's second NASCAR Xfinity campaign.
In addition to the continuous support from Ford Performance Motorsports, Deegan will count on the support from AirBox, Inc. and VIVA Tequila Seltzer, who will be Hailie's primary partners throughout her rookie season. Crew chief, car chief and additional marketing partners will be revealed in due course.
"We are excited to see Hailie continuing to advance her career by running full-time with AM Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024," commented Mark Rushbrook, global director Ford Performance Motorsports.
"From what we saw from Hailie in her Xfinity Series debut in Las Vegas last year, we look forward to some great results in 2024."