ARCA Menards Series Rookie of the Year candidate Hailie Deegan will maker her NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series debut next weekend at Kansas Speedway.
Ford Performance and DGR-Crosley confirmed the anticipated debut on Wednesday after the NASCAR crew roster for the Clean Harbors 200 listed Deegan as the driver of the No. 17 Ford F-150 for DGR-Crosley.
The team owned by David Gilliland and Crosley’s Bo LeMastus recently purchased the owner points from All Out Motorsports and switched the truck number from No. 7 to No. 17. David Ragan, Dylan Lupton and Korbin Forrister have all driven under the DGR-Crosley banner since September.
Deegan will become the team’s fourth Truck Series No. 17 pilot.
“I’m super excited to announce that I will be running the Truck race at Kansas Speedway,” Deegan said in a social media video.
“Ford will be the sponsor of my truck. Honestly, I wasn’t even planning on running Trucks this year, but in order to qualify for the races I want to run in the future, I have to run this race. It’s definitely going to be hard, challenging. I think our goal will be just to finish the race.”
Deegan, a native of Temecula, Calif. will pull double duty at Kansas Speedway. In addition to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race, she’ll also compete in the season finale for the ARCA Menards Series on Friday, Oct. 16.
She’ll enter her Kansas Speedway ARCA debut on the heels of a runner-up finish in the Illinois Truck & Equipment Allen Crowe 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Oct. 4.
Her second runner-up finish of 2020 is the highest finish by a female driver in the ARCA Menards Series. Last month Gracie Trotter became the first female driver to win on an ARCA Menards Series platform, the ARCA Menards Series West – but Trotter’s finish does not count towards the pinnacle division of ARCA.
Deegan also finished second at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February.
In all, the 19-year-old has delivered four top-five and 16 top-10 finishes and currently stands third in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings. Shawna Robinson currently holds the record for the best championship finish by a female competitor. She claimed sixth in 2000.
Before moving to DGR-Crosley and the Ford Performance Driver Development program this season, Deegan competed for Toyota Racing Development in the ARCA Menards Series West (formerly NASCAR K&N Pro Series West) for Bill McAnally Racing.
During her tenure, she earned three wins, captured five poles, 13 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes and finished a career-high third in the championship standings in 2019.
The Oct. 17 Clean Harbors 200 at Kansas Speedway is a historical event for the series as the 1.5-mile track will become the first venue to hold three races for the tour in a single season.
Kansas hosted a doubleheader for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in July.
It’s gonna be a big step for me. First time in the truck will be taking the green flag with no practice. Goal is to just finish the race! Can’t thank everyone enough for the support🙌 @FordPerformance @Ford pic.twitter.com/6K7BHwb6I1
— Hailie Deegan (@HailieDeegan) October 7, 2020
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
