Getty Hailie Deegan has updated her Xfinity Series plans.
The 2022 Camping World Truck Series season is at its midway point, and Hailie Deegan has her sights set on reaching the playoffs. She also has a desire to make her Xfinity Series debut, which remains a work in progress.
The driver of the No. 1 David Gilliland Racing Ford F-150 met with media members on June 8 to preview her return to California. She also faced questions about her previous plans to compete in some Xfinity Series races during the 2022 season. Deegan said that this is still a goal, but she clarified that finding funding is not a simple task.
“It’s tough trying to get funding midway through the season or trying to figure things out for a potential end of the year deal for, at least me, in these situations,” Deegan said, transcript courtesy of Ford Performance. “We’re still working on it and trying to do what we can, but there’s nothing we really have set in stone at all right now. It’s all just kind of seeing what we could possibly do in the future. I wish I had an answer because I want answers myself, but nothing set yet.”
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Deegan’s 2022 Campaign Hasn’t Been the Easiest
GettyHailie Deegan has dealt with struggles in 2022.
Deegan is currently in the midst of her second full-time Truck Series season, which has featured some struggles. She has been caught up in multiple wrecks out of her control, and she has failed to finish four of the 11 races. She is now 24th in points, which is seven spots lower than she was at the same point of the 2021 season.
Deegan will now have an opportunity to mount a comeback at a track where she has prior experience. The California native has previously competed at Sonoma Raceway, albeit in a different type of vehicle.
The driver of the No. 1 made two starts at Sonoma Raceway during her two seasons as a full-time driver in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. She made her debut at the track in 2018 where she posted a seventh-place finish. Deegan then returned the following year and won the pole for the 2019 race. She posted an eighth-place finish while gaining more experience at the track.
“I think that going back to Sonoma in the truck is gonna be a little bit different,” Deegan added during her media availability. “Obviously, the racing is probably gonna be a lot harder. This is a lot deeper field of good competition, but I think, at least for me, it gives me an idea of what to do. It gives me a base to go off of. Obviously, you could go in a couple different directions with stuff, but I feel like I have a good, solid base from being there in the K&N race.”
Deegan Has Limited Truck Series Starts on Road Courses
The trip back to California will provide Deegan with an opportunity to turn her season around. It will also help her gain more experience on a road course in a Camping World Truck Series entry.
Deegan has made four total starts on road courses in the Truck Series during her full-time career. She has two at Circuit of the Americas with a career-best finish of 14th in 2021. She also has one start each at the Daytona Road Course and Watkins Glen International.
Deegan has road course experience in both IMSA and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, but there are massive differences between those vehicles and the No. 1 Ford that she controls in the Camping World Truck Series. Gaining more experience in the national NASCAR series will only benefit her for the remainder of the year and in future seasons.
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