Hailie Deegan is back at the annual Tulsa Shootout. Following an upgrade to the Xfinity Series earlier this year, she has continued the tradition of partaking in the non-winged outlaw division at the SageNet Center. However, a switch to AM Racing’s Xfinity seat demands some preparation for the upcoming season, and the Tulsa Shootout series is a great platform to attune Hailie after a long off-season break.

For Hailie Deegan, dirt track racing has been a go-to class. Arriving in Oklahoma with her fiancé, Chase Cabre, she is looking forward to a great experience after a P13 finish in the 7th C-feature last year. In recent news, Deegan showed off her Odyssey Battery No. 38 non-winged sprint car on Instagram and made a surprising revelation about a race car driver’s year.

No ‘off-seasons’ in racing, claims Hailie Deegan

For NASCAR drivers, the off-season is an important facet. Following a hectic schedule filled with high-octane racing every other weekend, drivers often look forward to the long three-month break to spend time with their families or announce off-track responsibilities like sponsorships. However, according to Hailie Deegan, that might only be partially the case.

Kicking off the preparations for her upcoming Tulsa Shootout adventure, she posted, “Off-seasons in racing don’t exist. Having some fun here in Tulsa with this @odysseybattery car!” Following Hailie Deegan’s announcement of her plans for 2024, featuring a catalog boasting over 50 races in the upcoming year, it could be a busy year for the rising Xfinity Series driver.

The 2024 Tulsa Shootout is the first of her many ventures into dirt racing. Speaking about the same in a conversation on The Money Lap Live podcast, she stated, “I know my schedule is a lot this year because I’m doing a lot of dirt racing, too. Along with the 33 races of Xfinity, I have another 20 dirt races I’m going to be doing, so we’ll get around 50-something races. I don’t know if I’m doing the SRX Series yet, but if that gets added, that is going to be another bunch of races.”

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Hailie Deegan isn’t the only notable NASCAR driver in the fray at Tulsa, as Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Jesse Love will be racing across various divisions in the first Golden Driller competition of the year. Needless to say, it’ll be an experience to remember for Deegan, especially since that’s always been the case for the 22-year-old.

The Tulsa Shootout has always been a memorable experience for Deegan

Hailie Deegan’s Tulsa Shootout debut came in 2021 when she competed in the Micro Sprint Cars class. Since then, it has been a journey of learning and growth, and she looks forward to racing on the prestigious dirt surface for the third consecutive year. Reminiscing about her debut experience in a conversation with FloRacing, Hailie said,

“So, my first trip to the shootout was my first time in my own Micro. I’d raced other people’s cars a few times here and there, but that was my first experience, and it was by jumping into the big fishbowl.”

Off-season events have been sort of training grounds for NASCAR drivers. While the priority is surely weekend NASCAR racing, off-season racing allows drivers to compete without the added pressure of results. Hailie Deegan has doubled down on the same as well.

“It’s definitely less pressure, and I’m going there to have fun and enjoy it. I don’t have anything on the line when going there, so it’s more of a fun type of racing and a lot less pressure than the NASCAR side of things,” claimed Deegan.

The Tulsa experience could be a much-needed confidence boost for Hailie Deegan. While the competition is decided by multiple levels of elimination, surviving it and moving to the finals are things Hailie can bank on in 2024.

Read More: Hailie Deegan Credits Her “Second Dad” for Helping Her Coordinate and Manage Her Growing Career