CONCORD, N.C. – Ford secured one of the biggest signings of the NASCAR offseason on Tuesday when the manufacturer announced the addition of 18-year-old Hailie Deegan as a developmental driver.
Deegan was revealed as Ford’s newest development driver in a press conference at the Ford Performance Technical Center in Concord, N.C.
Deegan’s father, Brian Deegan, had a previous relationship with Ford during his driving days. He drove a Ford Fiesta in the Global Rallycross Championship, winning a Gold Medal in Rallycross competition at the X Games in 2011 while driving for Ford. He also raced a Ford Raptor in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.
“At the end of the day it’s really cool to be a part of Ford’s push to get that lower level racing to develop drivers,” Deegan said. “I’m super excited to be a part of the family. My dad was a Ford driver back in the day racing rally cars and off-road trucks. I’m definitely use to everyone here. It’s almost like coming back to something I was already a part of.”
The California native joins the Ford program after driving for Toyota and Bill McAnally Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, now known as ARCA Menards Series West, the last two seasons. In that time she scored three victories and finished third in the series standings this season.
As part of her agreement with Ford, Deegan will join DGR-Crosley to compete full-time in the ARCA Menards Series this season in the No. 4 Ford Fusion with support from Monster Energy. In addition, Deegan will also compete in select IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge races for Multimatic Motorsports in a Ford Mustang GT4.
Deegan admitted that her decision to depart the Toyota program for Ford had a lot to do with available seat time.
“At the end of the day, Toyota introduced me to the NASCAR world,” Deegan said. “I didn’t know a lot about the NASCAR world. They pushed me into it and gave me a real good base, and that’s something that I’m super thankful for, but at the end of the day there are so many Toyota drivers and there are not many seats.
“I think we made the best decision for my career long term. Toyota did so much for me and I’m so thankful for that. I think as of now I belong in the Ford family.”
The younger Deegan explained that when she first began exploring a career in NASCAR, her father approached Ford as a potential home. Things didn’t work out then, but fast forward a few years and she is now a part of the Ford family.
“My dad was almost the first one to go to Ford back a couple of years ago,” Deegan said. “It was just almost a matter of timing and when things were going to work out. I think right now, this time, everything fell together. It fell almost in our lap.”
The signing of Deegan by Ford is significant largely because the manufacturer doesn’t hand out development contracts often. The last driver to sign a Ford development contract was Chase Briscoe, who recently completed his first full season of NASCAR Xfinity Series competition driving for Stewart-Haas Racing.
“We want to have the best drivers at all levels of motorsports,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “It’s very important to get the drivers when they’re young and to develop them and prepare them for the top level of the sport. We want drivers who are going to go out there and win and from the first day that we met Hailie it was very clear, well actually before we met her, she is out there to compete and to win.
“When we did sit down with her, that’s all she wants to do. She wants to be in the car. She wants to be in the simulator. She wants to be learning and growing. For us, this was a perfect match from the beginning.”
In addition to her ARCA and IMSA schedules, Deegan said there is potential for her to compete in select NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series events late in the season. For now, she said her focus will be on the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge opener next month at Daytona Int’l Speedway and then the ARCA opener in February.
“As of now we’re focusing all of our funding and what we have into ARCA racing,” Deegan said. “If something comes together by the end of the year for trucks, we’ll do that.”