Kevin Harvick questions Hailie Deegan future, points out her biggest mistake

Hailie Deegan’s NASCAR future is uncertain following her exit from AM Racing earlier this month.

The 22-year-old came into the sport with some pomp and circumstance given her status as the daughter of motorsports legend Brian Deegan and her fanbase off the track but hasn’t been able to get it going in either the CRAFTSMAN Truck or Xfinity Series. Deegan initially came up in the Toyota development system before making the jump to Ford at the end of 2019.

That, Kevin Harvick said on his “Happy Hour” podcast this week, was Deegan’s first big mistake.

“I think that’s part of the problem. I don’t think that guidance and mentorship has been exactly what she needed for NASCAR,” Harvick said. “Think that the big mistake here was getting out of the Toyota development system. I don’t think Ford has a great development system as far as the things that they do from ARCA all the way until you get to Cup. I don’t even know if they have a development system. So, you get put in these situations to where you don’t have the resources and things you need like Toyota does and Chevy doesn’t do it quite as well as Toyota does, but they do it better than Ford.

“I think Ford has the worst development program as far as their drivers go. Toyota has the best and I think Chevy is somewhere in the middle. But getting out of that Toyota development program with all the resources and they’re willing to give time. She needed more time in the Truck Series getting that guidance and mentorship that she needed in order to develop into what she needed to be a NASCAR racecar driver. And she carries this fanbase off the racetrack, it’s a big fanbase and I think she just 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.”

What is Hailie Deegan’s next move?

Deegan struggled to stand out in the Truck Series from 2021-23 and made the move to the Xfinity Series this season. She failed to record a top-10 finish through 17 races this season and sat 27th in the points standings before AM Racing decided to make a move. Joey Logano piloted the No. 15 Ford at Chicago and Deegan was out shortly thereafter.

YouTuber David Land spotted Deegan at the IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway this past weekend. Perhaps that will be her next move, as Harvick believes another chance in NASCAR will be hard to come by.

“I think it’s gonna be tough to get another chance,” Harvick said. “That’s gonna be the hard part.”