Hailie Deegan gets ready for the upcoming Xfinity race by practicing on Ford’s performance Sim

Hailie Deegan is gearing up for her next race—the Sci Aps 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After a less-than-satisfactory performance at Iowa Speedway, where she finished 25th, the ACM Racing driver has already started practicing for the upcoming race on the Ford simulator.

The 22-year-old Hailie Deegan is in her rookie season and has yet to crack the top 10 or top 5. On October 4, 2022, Deegan made her NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, driving the SS-Green Light Racing #7 in Las Vegas. She finished the race on the lead lap in P13 place, marking the best one for a woman in her series debut in Xfinity Series history.

In October 2023, Hailie Deegan signed a multi-year contract with AM Racing to drive the #15 Ford from 2024. Despite numerous changes in crew chiefs, from Rich Lushes to her current chief, Joe Williams, Hailie Deegan has yet to achieve significant success in Xfinity.

Just a day ago, she posted a story on her Instagram handle with a picture practicing on the Ford simulator, from inside the Sim, to help improve her performance in New Hampshire. Her caption read:

"Getting Ready for New Hampshire on the @fordperformance sim!"

Hailie Deegan's Instagram Story

Given her underwhelming performance at Iowa, the simulation practice might be a pathway to help Deegan perform better in the upcoming race.

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Hailie Deegan's rookie season so far

NASCAR Xfinity Series Hy-Vee Perks 250 - Practice

Among the Xfinity rookies- Jesse Love, Shane Van Gisbergen, Leland Honeyman, and Dawson Cram, Deegan currently stands in P4 position with 160 points, at P29 on the driver standings table. Her best performance in the 2024 season came at Talladega, where she was able to finish P12 after starting P12. Besides that, she managed to finish P15 at Las Vegas after starting at the 15th position.

However, her most recent performance at Iowa was the one that irked fans the most. Although in the 15th Xfinity Series race HyVee Perks 250, Deegan managed to finish P25 after starting from P33 position, she could not outperform her rivals and was still at P32 by the end of Stage 1. Hailie Deegan crossed the line in 29th place at the end of Stage 2, and she managed to improve slightly to finish 25th in the race.

But this result didn’t turn many heads since she only managed to outpace one other driver, Garrett Smithley. The few cars finishing behind her had already been sidelined due to wrecks before the race concluded. Effectively, this left Deegan as the second-to-last driver to cross the finish line under her power.

In the driver standings, she finds herself trailing competitors like Aric Almirola, Ryan Truex, and Matt DiBenedetto, all of whom have made at least five fewer starts than her this season.