Deegan Leads Female Drivers with Seventh-Place Finish at Shasta

Hailie Deegan finished seventh and was the highest-finishing female after a competitive 173-lap ARCA Menards Series West (AMSW) race at Shasta Speedway in front of a packed grandstand. She drove the Bill McAnally Racing (BMR) No. 16 Monster Energy Chevrolet SS to a consistent result and ran inside the top three for a portion of the event.

Deegan started seventh and quickly settled into the top five despite an early caution on lap two. She advanced to fifth by lap 10 and maintained position through another caution at lap 15. On the lap 23 restart, Deegan moved into fourth and continued her forward progress, taking over third place on lap 33. She created separation from behind and held a steady gap through lap 40, and maintained third until the lap 73 break. The team made minor adjustments including adding five gallons of fuel during the caution to prepare for the final run.

Racing resumed on lap 78, and Deegan briefly held position before slipping to fourth on lap 81. As the run developed, she dropped to fifth on Lap 86 after getting moving out of the groove. Contact with another car with 76 laps remaining forced her to give up another position, placing her sixth. From there, Deegan reported difficulty maintaining pace over the long run as the field stretched out. 

Hailie Deegan spent the opening half of the race firmly in the top five, even working her way into podium position as the run unfolded. The Temecula, California native showed improving speed throughout the night, keeping pace with the front-runners and gaining confidence as the laps ticked off. She avoided a spinning car ahead on lap 115 and brought the car home with a solid seventh-place finish in her Shasta Speedway debut. The continued gains in speed for the Monster Energy-backed No. 16 team signal that Deegan is closing in on a breakthrough and will be contending for wins moving forward.