K&N Pro Series West star Hailie Deegan hasn’t announced her racing plans for the 2020 season yet, despite there being just one race left on her K&N schedule this season, Saturday’s season finale at ISM Raceway (7:30 p.m. ET on fanschoice.tv/6 p.m. ET Nov. 14 on NBCSN).
One part of that?
Sponsorship.
The 18-year-old driver was a guest on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “Skinner Round-up” Monday where she discussed her “struggle” in finding partners to put together a schedule. While racing in both K&N Series the last two years and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series this season, her sponsors have included Monster Energy, iK9 and NAPA.
“People think it’s easy, think it’s ‘Oh, you get media, you get attention, you get sponsors.’ It’s not that easy,” Deegan said. “At the end of the day there’s not usually just one person that covers all your funding, it takes help from a lot of areas. I’m really just looking at finding partners who want to really commit with me for the long run. So it’s definitely been a struggle and can already tell it’s going to be a struggle in the future.”
Deegan has three K&N West wins since last year. She’s only the second woman to win a NASCAR sanctioned race and she has an uncanny habit of doing it it in dramatic fashion.
Two of those wins came this season. In six ARCA starts this season, she has four top-10 finishes. Her best finish was fifth at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
Deegan shared what she would hope for from a dream schedule in 2020 if money wasn’t an issue.
“If I had the dream scenario, unlimited budget, which not many people have, which I don’t have, I wish, I’d say I’d be running full ARCA with K&N East,” Deegan said. “Maybe throw in Sonoma for the West Series. ... I haven’t looked at the East schedule yet. It all depends on when the schedules get released.
“One thing I really want to do is race (the) Eldora (Gander Outdoors) Truck race. That’s like a dream goal for me for next year.”
Deegan explained to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio what appeals to her about getting time in the K&N East series, where she has 14 starts and a best finish of ninth two times.
“I think the K&N East competition, I feel like the knowledge just from being on the East Coast and the tools they have out there they can use it just helps a lot more with the setups,” Deegan said. “Being out in the West Coast, it’s a little harder just because you don’t have the resources necessarily that the East Coast does and all the people with their knowledge out there.
“But we still make it work for the West Coast, everything’s good out there, but I’d say the East Coast level they just have those resources. And the ARCA series, I feel like the ARCA series has some good competition. There’s a solid top eight to 10 guys that if you brought them into the K&N seres could probably win.”