NASCAR Up-And-Comer, Hailie Deegan, Wins in Colorado After Controversial Contact With Teammate

For those looking for a little bit of insight as to what’s next in the world NASCAR, Hailie Deegan might be the answer. At just 17-years-old, she is surging through NASCAR’s K&N circuit. This girl is playing no games. It seems like the normal competition is added to a little bit of extra pressure with Deegan’s journey to the top. After all, there seems to be that mindset of not wanting to get beaten by the girl. Deegan has noted that this means drivers throwing a little bit extra aggression her way from time to time. Hailie seems to take all of this in stride, though, as she continuously shows up on race day. Sometimes, this even means getting into a little bit of a bumping match to show who’s boss.

During a K&N Pro Series West race this past weekend in Colorado, the engine wasn’t exactly squeaky clean. It would come down to the line with Deegan battling a teammate for the lead. When push came to shove, well, the push would literally come to shove. Teammates or not, these two were battling for the lead and determined to get home to that checkered flag. Coming around one of the final turns, Deegan and her teammate would make contact, sending Derek Kraus out of control. This would give Hailie the momentum she needed to take home the win.

Hailie responded to the incident with the following: “In the end, Derek (Kraus) ran me hard right there, so I was going to run him hard back. That’s racing.” She continued that “If you take a swing at me, I’m going to take a swing at you back.”

At the end of the day, rubbing is racing. This situation is definitely one that has the fans talking, though. In a battle for a position like this, it seems like just about anything is fair game. When heading into close quarters like that, we never really know what’s going to happen! That might just be the most exciting part of a race like this.