For Hailie Deegan, the emotional importance of winning the Madera 150 was hard to miss. After her journey in NASCAR came to an abrupt end with AM Racing, the 25-year-old made a comeback and delivered a performance that marked her fourth victory in the ARCA West. And this was her first win in seven years.
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Fighting back tears after the win, she opened up about how difficult the journey had been and thanked the people who continued to believe in her.
“I’m like, tearing up right now. It’s been a long time since I won a race,” Deegan told Noah Lewis after taking the victory. “So it’s mostly. Thank you to everyone, everyone that still believed in me. It’s been hard. It’s been hard. It’s been super hard and just to see everyone still supporting me these days. It’s amazing and it doesn’t go unseen and I appreciate every single one of you. So, thank you guys.”
While the result of the Madera 150 represented a major moment in Deegan’s comeback run, the way she approached the closing stages of the race showed how determined she was to make the most of the opportunity.
“I told myself today I was like if I’m in the position, I felt like last race I was in the position and didn’t capitalize on it enough and I told myself today. I was like if I’m there I’m capitalizing it. I’m gonna do everything I possibly can to win this damn race because we had a car capable of winning it.”
That car came from Bill McAnally Racing, with Deegan praising the team for giving her a machine capable of competing for a win throughout the weekend. The car unloaded fast and she felt comfortable with it, eventually putting herself in the right position where it matters the most.
The race, however, was not exactly flawless, as Deegan tagged into the rear of her teammate, Mason Massey. After the finish, Deegan also immediately offered an apology to Massey, insisting it was not intentional. “No for s,ure and like first off, I want to say sorry to my teammate that was totally unintentional. My pedal was super soft. My brake pedal just didn’t have enough pedal there. And so I got into him. So I want to apologize for that.”
Madera was the site of her first stock car start, making her latest visit to Victory Lane feel like a full-circle moment. Looking back at her career, Deegan said she has come to appreciate everything she has experienced along the way.
“Oh my gosh. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. Look back at like, the different things I’ve got to experience around my years, the highs and the lows, I appreciate every single bit of it, even the low days like I’m thankful for what I get to do and everyone that’s a part of it,” she said.
Those low points have made the support around her even more meaningful. Deegan specifically highlighted the backing she has continued to receive from her sponsors and supporters, including Monster Energy, Columbia Bank and 511’s, a new sponsor who has joined her program.
The 25-year-old daughter of former motocross racer Brian Deegan, Hailie has not had an easy ride in NASCAR. Across her first two seasons, she won three races and finished third overall in the 2019 championship. She stepped up to the main ARCA Series full-time in 2020, followed by three years (2021–2023) racing full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
In 2024, Deegan drove for AM Racing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. However, she and her team unexpectedly split midway through the season.
This began a tough period where she struggled to find success at NASCAR’s national levels. Seeking a change, she switched to open-wheel racing in 2025 to drive in Indy NXT. Deegan then returned to ARCA West full-time in 2026.
For Deegan, the Madera 150 was not just about returning to the top step. After an abrupt end to her NASCAR journey in 2024, she found another chance to compete, and she made it count at the same venue where her stock car career began. And who knows, this might light the spark for Deegan to return to NASCAR racing, perhaps in Trucks or the O’Reilly Series?