NCWTS Advance: Phoenix Raceway

Hailie Deegan, No. 1 Wastequip Ford F-150    

• Hailie Deegan will make her final start of the 2022 season in her second NCWTS appearance at Phoenix Raceway this Friday.
• In the series’ last outing at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the Ford development driver started in seventh before handling issues rendered her to a 17th-place finish.
• Deegan finished 17th in last year’s Phoenix contest. She has also added finishes of fourth in the ARCA Menards Series West in 2019 and a seventh-place ARCA National performance in 2020.
• The 21-year-old will head into the season finale with a career-high two top-tens, including her best-ever finish of sixth at Talladega Superspeedway.
• Veteran Crew Chief Jerry Baxter has eight starts at the one-mile oval under his belt, boasting an average finish of 9.1 to go along with a career-best result of fourth with Daniel Suarez in 2015
• Click here for Deegan’s career statistics.

Tanner Gray, No. 15 Ford Performance F-150

• Tanner Gray will make his 71st career NCWTS start on Friday night when the series enters the final race of the year at Phoenix Raceway.
• At Homestead-Miami two weeks ago, Gray was on his way to a hard-earned top-15 result. However, an improper fueling penalty sullied his strong run, rendering the Artesia, NM native to a 25th-place finish.
• Crew Chief Mike Hillman Jr. has one victory at the unique oval, winning in 2005 with driver Todd Bodine. Guiding his drivers to an average finish of 7.3, Phoenix remains one of the veteran signal-callers most successful tracks on the NCWTS schedule.
• After three seasons of partnership, Ford Performance will don the hood of the No. 15 Ford F-150 for the final time this weekend. Starting in 2023, the newly rebranded TRICON Garage will realign with Toyota, making Gray one of the pilots of the team’s flagship lineup.
• Click here for Gray’s career statistics.  

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance F-150

• Taylor Gray will make his eighth and final start of 2022 as the NCWTS season comes to an end at Phoenix Raceway.
• The 17-year-old made his only NCWTS appearance at Phoenix in 2021, bringing home a 29th-place finish after a flat right-rear tire cost him an opportunity for a lead lap finish. Gray claimed his first-career ARCA Menards Series win at Phoenix Raceway earlier this season, securing a victory by way of a clutch overtime restart.
• Gray is gearing up for his first full-time run in the Truck Series, starting at Circuit of the Americas for the newly branded TRICON Garage in 2023. The 17-year-old will miss the first three races of the season due to NASCAR’s age restriction policy. 
• Chad Johnston will sit atop the pit box this weekend for the No. 17 team. He guided Gray to an ARCA Menards Series victory at the one-mile oval in March, adding to the five top-fives and eight top-tens he amassed at the facility over his NASCAR Cup Series career.
• Click here for Gray’s career statistics.