With 10 races remaining in the 23-race Craftsman Truck Series, there’s plenty of time to turn things around and establish a new narrative. But Haley Deegan is halfway through her third full-time season in the Truck Series, and things aren’t improving. It’s a real shame considering how much interest there is in the young Californian, who turns 22 this July, and how much money Ford Racing has invested in the young Californian.
A couple of rough and sub-par races this season took a hit again last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway when Deegan lost control of her No. 13 Ford pickup in the early laps and pulled away shortly afterwards. Down to Lawless Allen’s unflattering comments. Deegan’s truck was intact enough that she was able to make it to the finish line four laps behind, finishing 28th out of 36 starters.
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But the same can’t be said for another young California racer, Lawless Alan, who by far is better known for his cool name than his results. Allen finished last after being knocked down by Deegan’s spin on lap 7.
Deegan fought his way into Turn 4 and took advantage of the descent while Alan took the lead. She appeared to push the flat apron beneath the ring, and the back of her truck came loose, throwing her upward into Allen’s No. 45 Chevrolet. Deegan got on her team radio and apologized for her truck being loose, saying, “I’m sorry. I was released inside.”
Allen, a third-year driver in the Truck Series, had to go to the infield care center and then calmly but fairly bluntly explain how he felt about the accident and how he felt about his teammates. “She had no talent and just went all out to destroy me,” Allen told Frontstretch.com. “This isn’t the first time she’s ruined me. She’s doing it to piss everyone off.”
This should be a season of better results for Deegan, who this year moves to ThorSport Racing, a premier Truck Series team that has four series championships. But she has just one top-10 finish, and her average starting position (18.1) and finishing position (21.5) are about the same as the past two seasons at David Gilliland Racing.
Assuming some positives on the track, conventional wisdom has Deegan being promoted to NASCAR’s Xfinity Series this season, her third full-time season in one of NASCAR’s three nationwide touring series. But some wrangling between drivers, teams and manufacturers after last season ended up leaving Deegan without a Ford seat in Xfinity despite taking the top spot in ThorSport.
Deegan comes to NASCAR with solid credentials. In 2020, she finished third in points in the ARCA Series with no wins but 17 top-10s in 20 races. The previous two years in NASCAR’s K&N West Series, she had three wins and 23 top-10s in 28 races.