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Hailie Deegan Hopes to Break Her Vicious Playoff Cycle & Conquer Embarrassing Daytona Record

Published 08/04/2023, 7:43 PM EDT

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As opposed to the popular saying, “third time’s the charm,” Hailie Deegan seems to be pretty much out of luck in this regard—for she has failed to make it to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs three times in a row. Additionally, However, Deegan is not someone who takes her failure to her heart, for she is eagerly looking forward to qualifying for the playoffs next season. 

Apart from sporting the 19th position in the Truck Series playoff standings, a highlight in Deegan’s racing career has been her inability to have the best performance record at Daytona, despite racing there since 2020. In an interview, she revealed how she felt about breaking the Daytona spell in the upcoming seasons. 

Hailie Deegan wants to come back full circle in Daytona

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Before joining ThorSports in 2023, Deegan had partnered with PF Racing. Despite having a pretty good start, a series of contacts and other setbacks got her out of contention, landing her on a disappointing 24th finish that season.

Deegan dug deep into this series of unfortunate outcomes that she has been on the receiving end of. She remarked, I’m trying to make playoffs for three years and something. And always at the beginning of the season, it starts off in Daytona, I think. I don’t think I finished the Daytona yet. And in Vegas, we’ve always got caught up in something there too.

“So, I’ve always been behind the eight ball when it comes to making the playoffs because I’ll be on a good stride after Vegas, and then all of a sudden, Midway through the season, it’s happened for three years straight. Midway through the season, we get in a couple of wrecks and it takes us out of contention.

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“So it’s something I’m trying to break. I think I’m getting them like a circle – it goes all around all back and forth every single year. So I think my next goal would be next year say, I was in the truck series whatever series, it is that I get to race into I think that it would be probably hanging back in Daytona and just trying to finish that one,” revealed the Californian NASCAR ace.

It is evident that Deegan is wary of this circle of near-wins that she hasn’t been able to break for the past 3 years. With the series of failures she’s had at Daytona, it is understandable why she has made Daytona her mission. 

What Deegan expects from the 2023 Playoffs 

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Deegan may not have made it to the Top 8 of the Playoffs Standings this season, but that hasn’t dimmed her spirit. She painted a vivid picture of what the NASCAR Truck Series is preparing for as she gets asked for a preview. 

I mean it’s so unpredictable as it’s hard to say, obviously. I’d like to see one of my teammates doing good. But I think the ThorSport Trucks are really really strong and there’s a lot of smart people over there and a lot of experienced people.

“You see Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski, Matt Craft, and all those guys have a lot of experience, especially in the Truck series.” She further explained how this season’s playoffs will see drivers putting all their time and efforts into making sure that they secure a place in the playoffs and that they have a fair chance at bagging the championship. 

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While financial restraint may come in the way of her competing in the Xfinity Series full-time, Hailie Deegan is bent on proving herself in future races. Fans can only hope that she succeeds in her endeavors and creates history for female NASCAR drivers.

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Written by:

Anjori Mukherjee

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Anjori Mukherjee is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. A journalist and storyteller by heart, Anjori has gained significant experience in sports journalism in the past four years. Being thorough in research and unbiased in her pronouncements, she lives by upholding journalistic integrity.
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Edited by:

Nischal Kandpal