Kevin Harvick blames Hailie Deegan's early NASCAR decisions for AM Racing exit

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick assessed Hailie Deegan's ascent to the Xfinity Series, following her recent split with AM Racing. Harvick reckoned the 22-year-old was rushed through the ranks, and needed better guidance and mentorship.

Deegan emerged as one of NASCAR's biggest prospects in 2019, winning races with Toyota in the K&N Pro Series West. However, she switched to Ford Performance the following season, spending one season in the ARCA series, before graduating to the Trucks, and to the Xfinity Series three years later.

In a recent episode of the Happy Hour podcast, Kevin Harvick emphasized that Hailie Deegan's switch to Ford was a "bad move". Harvick, a Ford driver for the latter part of his career, expressed uncertainty about the manufacturer having a structured driver development system.

"I don’t think that guidance and mentorship has been exactly what she needed for NASCAR. I think that the big mistake here was getting out of the Toyota development system. I don’t think Ford has a great development system, as far as the things that they do from ARCA all the way until you get to Cup. I don’t even know if they have a development system." Harvick said.

Harvick ranked Toyota's TD2 (Toyota Driver Development) as the best program for young drivers, and Ford as the worst among the three manufacturers. He said that the 22-year-old Deegan was rushed through the ranks in the Ford system and needed a better environment and mentorship to be successful.

"I think that she needed more time in the Truck Series getting that guidance and mentorship that she needed in order to develop into what she needed to be a NASCAR race car driver."

"I think that she just got pushed through too fast and wound up in the wrong development system for her to be successful," he added.

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Kevin Harvick outlines bleak NASCAR prospects for Hailie Deegan

Following her struggles to fetch decent results in the Trucks and the Xfinity Series, Kevin Harvick reckons Hailie Deegan will have a tough time securing her next ride in NASCAR's top three series.

Harvick acknowledged that Deegan has a huge following on social media, but said that getting her next ride lined up will not be an easy task.

"I think it’s going to be tough to get another chance. That’s going to be the hard part," he said during the aforementioned podcast.

After parting ways with AM Racing, Hailie Deegan was spotted at the IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway. In a video from the series, Deegan is shown climbing out of an open-wheeler and jokingly saying, "screw stock car racing." Her presence in the IndyCar garage has sparked speculation about a potential switch to open-wheel racing.