In the high-stakes world of motorsports, the emotional roller coaster experienced by those watching their loved ones compete is often overlooked. Hailie Deegan, a rising star in the NASCAR Truck Series scene, knows this all too well. The feeling of gut-wrenching anxiety can accompany the thrill of the race.

Just like Deegan, her younger brother, Haiden, navigates the perilous world of motorsports. However, it’s the two-wheeler side of things that makes it even more dangerous. Recently, during a candid conversation, Deegan shared her raw emotions and the reality of being torn between showing support and being concerned for her brother. During the same conversation, she also calls out on a particularly bothering issue with the Next Gen Cup Series Cars.

Hailie Deegan throws shade on Cup Car’s safety

At Monster Energy’s UNLEASHED Podcast, Deegan mentioned, “I swear every time Haiden goes on the track makes me so nervous like sickening nervous. Because like I love my little brother so much… I’m so proud of him and like it makes me so happy to see him do good out there.”

“But when he crashes it like, makes me so sad.”

“Like I just care about him so much. I don’t want to see him getting hurt. But he is in a sport which, is dangerous that when you do crash, you do get hurt.”

“Like car racing, yeah, you like you get a little beat up in there. Obviously the cup cars I know there’s been a lot of issues with people getting hurt and knows and that’s totally different story than trucks and Xfinity.”

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NASCAR worked on safety issues after severe backlash last year

The safety issue which Hailie Deegan was referring to was plaguing the Cup Series drivers throughout last season. We even had to witness the departure of Kurt Busch after being injured during qualifying at Pocono. Busch had to retire from the sport early due to his sustained injuries.

It was near the end of the season when drivers such as Kevin Harvick went public with their rants against NASCAR. That is when the organizers had to step up and deliver safety updates to the cars. Ahead of the Daytona 500 in 2023, the changes were apparently put into place.

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However, to understand if these changes have been fruitful, we would have to wait and watch every driver’s reaction to the upgrades. Regardless of what happened last year, safety is something that should be paramount in high-octane sports such as NASCAR, where within a blink of an eye, things can take a drastic turn. Even the smallest of things can be the difference between a safe exit and something going horribly wrong.