Sixteen-year-old Hailie Deegan battled to a seventh-place finish in the Carneros 200 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday in her first race on a road course.
The driver of the Bill McAnally Racing No. 19 Mobil 1/NAPA Power Premium Plus/Whelen Toyota Camry led the way among a trio of BMR drivers competing in the 64-lap event on the 1.99-mile road course.
Deegan – a NASCAR Next driver from Temecula, California – captured the spotlight early in the day by qualifying third in time trials, ahead of four of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers competing in the event. In the race, she went door-to-door in battling her competition around the winding road course.
“My goal was to finish in the top 10,” she said afterward. “I didn’t know I was going to qualify third, but that was good too. I’m happy and the crew is happy. It was a good race.”
Deegan talked about conditions she faced on a day in which the temperature hit 98 degrees.
“It was hot,” she said. “The track was so slick. My car was really greasy tight in the front. It was a little hard to hold on to in the earlier segments. Once we got fresh tires, it started getting better.”
Deegan’s teammate, Cole Rouse, had top-five finish go away due to contact from another car less than four laps from the finish. Rouse had charged from 14th on the grid to run as high as second in the No. 99 NAPA Filters Toyota Camry. He was closing in on fourth place when he got tagged from behind.
The third BMR driver, Derek Kraus, had a solid day in the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry – starting eighth and coming home 10th.
Kraus – a 16-year-old from Stratford, Wisconsin – remains third in the championship standings. He has one win, four top-five, and five top-10 finishes in six starts this season.
Rouse is fourth in the standings. The 20-year-old from Fort Smith, Arkansas has three top-five and five top-10 finishes.
With her finish Saturday, Deegan took over the lead in rookie points and moved up two spots to fifth in the overall standings. She has two top-five and six top-10 finishes in her six starts.
She recently completed her requirements for high school graduation and on Saturday was presented with her diploma on stage during driver introductions.
Saturday morning, NAPA guests had the chance to get an inside look at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage area at Sonoma Raceway, with BMR providing special VIP pit tour. The guests also had access to view the race from the NASCAR suite.
The Carneros 200, won in dominant fashion by Will Rodgers, is slated to be televised on NBCSN on June 28 at 3 p.m. PT.
The next event on the K&N Pro Series West schedule will be the Clint Newell Toyota 150 presented by NAPA AUTO PARTS at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Oregon on Saturday, June 30.
BMR PR
