NASCAR insider lays out what Hailie Deegan needs to do next to make it back to national series

Hailie Deegan is no longer with AM Racing, and a NASCAR insider has weighed in on her future in racing. Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports revealed what Deegan needs to do next to make it back to one of the national series in NASCAR.

“It might take someone with that same affinity for risk — risk from a financial standpoint — to give Deegan a solid chance of being successful,” Pockrass wrote.

“Deegan needs to go to a place where she knows she can race for a couple of years. She needs to go somewhere with a strong structure in place to set reasonable goals for her to improve. She needs to go somewhere with teammates that can help her (although she did have that with her truck teams and it didn’t exactly lead to any great improvement). She might even need a program where she runs select races in a variety of series from late models to Xfinity to help improve her weaknesses.”

Pockrass also wrote that Deegan was “celebrated five years ago as a potential superstar who could help transform the sport.” He added that she needs someone who believes she can take that next step in her career.

“Finding a believer — from sponsor, from owner, from crew chief — will be key to whether she can make a career out of stock-car racing,” Pockrass wrote.

Hailie Deegan says goals with AM Racing ‘no longer align’

Deegan was set to drive for AM Racing at the Chicago Street Race this past weekend but was replaced by two-time Cup Series Champion Joey Logano. This week, AM Racing and Deegan announced they will go their separate ways.

“Beginning this season, I had a lot of excitement and hope in taking my next step in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It’s something I’ve been working towards for years and always dreamt about. I worked hard to prepare for this season after the team pursued me to drive their car,” Deegan wrote on X. “Unfortunately, it has not turned out the way that I expected. There are always several reasons within a race team as to why things do or do not work, but sadly our goals no longer align. With that being said, myself and AM Racing will be parting ways.

Deegan drove in the Truck Series last year and finished 19th in the standings while recording two top-10 finishes. Her most successful stint was when she competed in the ARCA Menards Series West, earning three victories and 23 top-10 finishes from 2018 to 2019. Deegan is the daughter of Brian Deegan, a motorsports star who has won 16 X Games medals.