Dale Earnhardt Jr. backs Hailie Deegan to turn into “an accomplished racer” but unsure over her Cup chances

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently reacted to Hailie Deegan parting ways with AM Racing midway through the season. Deegan and her team parted ways after 17 races into the season in which she scored four finishes inside the top 20 and none inside the top 10.

Deegan, who took a big step in her career as she went from Truck Series to Xfinity Series, now finds herself staring into an unknown future in NASCAR. However, Dale Jr. believes that Deegan could carve her path with the right opportunity and become a quality driver in the future. Speaking in a recent episode of "Dale Jr. Download", Earnhardt Jr. said (via YouTube):

"I think that she absolutely should pursue more opportunities in either Truck or Xfinity Series. I do not know enough about AM Racing to be able to make a decision on what talent Hailie has and whether she truly deserves to continue," Dale Jr. said [at 00:57].

"I believe she should and I think that in a good scenario, in the right situation, she could actually turn into quite an accomplished racer at some level whether, I don't know if it's the Cup level," he added.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer emphasized that in the right scenario, Hailie Deegan can become a contender for wins in the Truck or the Xfinity Series.

Whilst showing belief in her abilities, Junior did express his uncertainty on how Deegan would fare in the Cup series, as he deemed NASCAR's premier flight as "a whole another beast."

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. speaks about 'challenging system' that puts drivers like Hailie Deegan in bad situations

Further speaking on this subject, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke about what he thought was a "challenging system" that drivers like Hailie Deegan are a part of. He further mentioned that a lot of drivers that come from the grassroots to several national series find themselves in pressure situations given the provisional financial support they receive.

"Wherever that financial support is coming from, whether it's sponsor, whether it's family, whatever that support is, it's still a lot of money, a huge commitment, and it's not forever. So what happens is, and this is I believe is somewhat similar for Hailie," Earnhardt Jr. said.

"In a perfect world, you would let Hailie or any of these other drivers run in that K&N series or run in that late models or run trucks, a few more years, and what happens is that there's a bit of an urgency to try and move up and take the very next available opportunity at the next level because the support financially is not forever and you do not know when that finally dries up," he added.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed that drivers ultimately end up in situations that don't pan out well for them because they end up taking any opportunity that comes their way. Junior remarked that this was also the case for Hailie Deegan and felt that Deegan took an opportunity that she should not have chosen.

To conclude his argument, Earnhardt Jr. reiterated his opinion that limited finances are part of the reason why many drivers try their hardest to progress quickly and get to the top.