"I don't let it get to me": When Hailie Deegan opened up about handling social media criticism

Former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Hailie Deegan began making waves in the racing world during her time racing in the K&N Pro Series (now ARCA Menards West), which also led to her gaining popularity on social media. In an interview from 2019, the driver spoke about how she runs her social media account, along with how she tackles negativity on those platforms.

Deegan admits to running her social media accounts herself, and showing her followers her day-to-day activities in an attempt to connect with her fans directly instead of through a media person. When asked about whether negative comments from others on the internet affect her, the driver says that she remains undeterred:

"In the end, I don't let it get to me. … They don't understand the full story or the full picture, and that's why I try to be honest on social media and give people the full stories. But you can never make everyone happy, and no matter what situation you're in, not everyone's going to be happy and OK with it."

Some of the negativity she receives, in regards to her gender or her age - Deegan was 17-years-old when racing in the K&N Pro Series - is a regular occurrence, but that doesn't discourage her from being active on social media:

"So there's always going to be that person that doesn't want a girl driver, that thinks you're too young to be racing, that doesn't think you should post [something on social]. It just comes down to what you want to do and what you think you should do." [via USA Today]

Hailie Deegan's first win in the K&N Pro Series West, which came during her debut season in 2018, put her name in the history books as the first female driver to win a race in the series.

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Hailie Deegan discusses how being behind the wheel of different types of cars makes her a better racer

Crew members push the car of NASCAR K&N Pro Series driver Hailie Deegan in the pits during the Twin 100s at Tucson Speedway- Source: Imagn

Hailie Deegan, in her interview from 2019, also discussed how her experience driving different types of vehicles has contributed to her ability as a racing car driver. The driver also highlighted how racing with stock cars is an expensive activity and not something that can be done regularly for practice, so being behind the wheel of her truck, a go-kart, and others has helped her on the track:

"100 percent. Stock car racing is really expensive - really, really expensive. I would love it, but I don't have an unlimited budget to be in a stock car every single day that I want to practice. So I go out in a go-kart, I go out in a RZR, in my truck, whatever I can get in to practice."

"It makes me a better driver being able to drive different cars, not necessarily just a stock car. It has it's pros and cons, but I'm doing what I can with the equipment that I have," she added [via USA Today].

In 2025, Hailie Deegan became a part of the HMD Motorsports team in Indy NXT and has scored 16 points so far this season.