NASCAR: Next Big thing Hallie Deegan stepping down to IndyCar

NASCAR’s ‘Next Big Thing,’ Hallie Deegan, is leaving NASCAR and stepping down to the IndyCar feeder series Indy NXT.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Deegan signed with Ford Performance back in 2019 with eyes set on a NASCAR Cup career, but that did not go well, so now she is going to try and make it in IndyCar.

Deegan, 23, is scheduled to drive the full Indy NXT Series schedule next season for HMD Motorsports after four seasons in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Xfinity series.

“I am excited about the opportunity and look forward to working with a proven program in HMD Motorsports,” Deegan said. “I have much to learn, but I am ready to go. The team brings a wealth of knowledge for me to pull from, and I look forward to soaking up as much of that as possible before my race debut next March in St. Petersburg.”

Despite considerable support from Ford, like the token female that preceded her, Danica Patrick, Deegan found the going rough in NASCAR. In three seasons in trucks, she failed to score a top five and had only five top 10s. She has a top finish of 12th this year (at Talladega Superspeedway) in Xfinity.

NASCAR, IndyCar and even F1, seem to think that if they have a token woman racing they can appeal to the female audience.

That is a noble idea, but there is a reason why most sports have separate ‘woman’ leagues – females generally are inferior to males physically.

And if you don’t think driving a race car at the highest levels of the sport is not physical, think again.

Hence, why women continue to fail at the highest levels of the sport. Sure, they preform admirably in sports car racing, but that is generally deemed stroker-racing where outright speed from start to finish of a race is not essential due to the length of the events and the need to preserve the equipment or risk a DNF.

The top-level motorsports series put women drivers on a pedestal to attract women race fans, but in reality, are they setting these women drivers up for failure?

Politically incorrect Bernie Ecclestone once referred to women drivers as domestic appliances. That was harsh, and he got a lot of heat over that insensitive statement, but he was making the point that he felt women drivers should not be racing against men – it was simply unfair.

Would these women be better served in a properly promoted woman’s racing league, with good salaries, numerous sponsors and a good TV package?