Hailie Deegan Sets The Pace At Daytona

The making of Danica #2 – Hailie Deegan placed first in ARCA practice 1. So predictable.

Hailie Deegan led the way in dual 60-minute practice sessions on Friday afternoon in preparation for Saturday’s Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire.

Deegan, who’ll be making her first start for DGR-Crosley and Ford Performance, turned a 49.027-second lap around the 2.5-mile oval in the first session and ran 24 laps (third-most). She was among a handful of the faster cars that did not go out for the second session.

“That was the real drafting practice that I had with more than five cars," she said. “I needed that, and I didn’t get a lot of that in the test. It was really good leading the pack too. Felt super stable, not darty at all."

Connor Hall, driving for Chad Bryant Racing, ran a lap of 49.496 seconds, good enough for first in final practice. Venturini Motorsports’ drivers Michael Self, Ryan Repko and Drew Dollar didn’t participate in the session, along with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Riley Herbst.

Dollar (49.093), Tanner Gray (49.122), Herbst (49.141) and Bret Holmes (49.164) rounded out the top five speeds. Hall, Jacob Heafner, Gus Dean, Self and Repko competed the top 10.

Qualifying for the Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire is scheduled for Saturday, February 8 at 12:30 p.m. EST. The green flag for the season opener is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EST on Fox Sports 1.

“That was crazy." 🤯

Hear from @HailieDeegan on her experience in the draft during first practice @DISupdates. ðŸ"Šâ¬†ï¸�#ARCAMenards | #LucasOil200 pic.twitter.com/jkHf9gxUeh

— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) February 7, 2020

Practice 1 Results:

Practice 2 Results