Motorsports racer and social media star, Hailie Deegan, made her return to NASCAR this past weekend at Kern Raceway in the ARCA West Series. In this race, Deegan finished very strongly with a 6th-place finish in what was her return to racing stock cars.
Deegan turned her talents to IndyCar in 2025, but that came to an abrupt end. She participated in the IndyCar NXT Series for HMD Motorsports. She raced six times with a best finish of 11th place. The less-than-compelling season ended with Deegan’s return to NASCAR in the ARCA West series for Bill McAnally Racing.
Hailie Deegan Finishes Strong at Kern Raceway
Deegan has received criticism in her time in NASCAR. She ran the Truck Series for Thorsport Racing from 2021-23, even earning the Most Popular Driver award. However, in 67 starts, all Deegan would accomplish was five top-10 finishes. For a top team in Thorsport Racing, this was very underwhelming.
Prior to Deegan running in the ARCA Series, she had done well. Deegan starts 26 races in the ARCA Menards Series, netting 21 top-10 finishes and 5 top-5’s, despite zero wins. In the ARCA West Series, where she now returns, Deegan had 29 starts with 3 wins, 13 top-5’s, and 24 top-10’s.
In her return with Bill McAnally Racing, Deegan is expected to deliver strong results in 2026. This is by far the best series Deegan has participated in. With a 6th-place result in his return race, things look up for the Monster Energy Athlete.
Why is Hailie Deegan So Popular?
(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Hailie Deegan is a very popular driver, despite racing in a very low tier. So why is that?
Deegan is the daughter of legendary motocross driver Brian Deegan. She has been around racing for years, and now, she has 1.7 million Instagram followers and 3.3 million TikTok followers. The marketability of Deegan is tremendous, given her social reach, which has led to her sponsorship with Monster Energy and now Napa Auto Parts.
It will be interesting to see if Deegan finds herself back in ARCA West victory lane, thus promoting a resurgence in her career, perhaps getting back to the ARCA Menards Series and more beyond. It seems like she definitely made the right move in this 2026 campaign.