Hailie Deegan joins a very short list of high schoolers who have accepted their diploma and immediately jumped in a race car to compete in NASCAR.
16-year-old Hailie Deegan got her high school diploma, then raced in NASCAR
Best graduation day ever!
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Hailie, daughter of driver and X-Games star Brian Deegan, is a “NASCAR Next” driver, young athletes who have been earmarked to be future stars in the sport. On Saturday Hailie was set to graduate high school AND race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West where she’s a rookie — so her plans merged and she got her diploma at the race track.
Hailie is the only women currently a part of the NASCAR Next program, and finished 7th on Saturday — moving her into the Top 5 in the overall season standings.
Remember Hailie Deegan’s name now, because we could be witnessing a future superstar in the sport.
Hailie’s day on Saturday was one very few are able to match. In 2017 Noah Gragson had a similarly bizarre graduation before taking part in the NASCAR truck series. Best graduation ever?
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