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Hailie Deegan is Ford’s newest development driver

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CONCORD, N.C. -- Ford Performance Motorsports revealed Hailie Deegan as its newest development driver Tuesday at its Technical Center, with her joining Chase Briscoe in the program.

Deegan will compete in multiple series in 2020, including the full ARCA Menards Series season with DGR-Crosley driving the No. 4 Ford and select events in the Mustang GT4 with Multimatic Motorsports in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.

Neither Deegan or Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports global director, would say how long her deal was, but Deegan said she’s be with Ford for “a lot of birthdays.”

At the unveiling, Deegan said all of her funding is focused on the ARCA Series, but if the opportunity to race in other series comes up this year, they will pursue it.

Deegan

“I could not be more excited to join Ford Performance and DGR-Crosley,” Deegan said in a press release. “It became clear quickly that I align with the Ford Performance vision of driver development and our shared drive to win. It is also extra special to get to race with Ford, a family company, that already had ties to my family. Growing up watching my dad race a Ford, and now to be able to do the same thing is very cool.

“It’s also important to me to be teamed up with a hardworking group such as DGR with like minded vision and goals. We are all committed to work as hard as it takes to finish on top. I look forward to the upcoming season and learning as much as possible to get me closer to accomplishing my goals of winning races.”

Deegan, 18, will be leaving the vaunted Toyota Racing Development pipeline, which has helped groom Erik Jones and Christopher Bell for NASCAR’s premier series. But with Toyota’s Cup and Xfinity rides mostly filled for the foreseeable future, Ford’s larger team lineup might offer Deegan a better path for accelerating through NASCAR’s national series if she can improve on her two wins and 11 top 10s in 14 K&N Series (now the ARCA Menards Series) starts last year.

“Hailie has shown in her brief time behind the wheel of a stock car that she’s got what it takes to be successful,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, in a press release. “Our goal is to put her on a path to realize our shared goal of winning championships and part of that is gaining experience on tracks such as road courses and superspeedways. We feel this year will serve as a good foundation for what lies ahead.”

The daughter of action sports star Brian Deegan, Hailie Deegan is just the second woman to win a NASCAR sanctioned race, following Shawna Robinson. She’s earned three wins in 28 ARCA Menards Series West races over the last two years, and she has a knack for winning in dramatic fashion. She finished third in the K&N West standings in 2019.

One of her ARCA Menards Series East starts this year was with DGR-Crosley, which recently announced its switch from Toyota to Ford with the intent of being part of the company’s development program.

Deegan made six ARCA Menards Series starts this year, earning one top five and four top-10 finishes.

MORE: Hailie Deegan on the Dale Jr. Download: “I’m a racer, not a model”

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