DEARBORN - The date was Dec. 17, 2019 and Hailie Deegan was preparing to take center stage as the newest member of the Ford Performance Driver Development Program.

As part of her official introduction to the media at Ford Performance’s Technical Center in Concord, NC, Deegan was going to drive a brand new Mustang Shelby GT350 through some standard black draping and announce her arrival with the kind of throaty rumble only a Mustang can generate.  But there was an unexpected problem. 

She had never driven a production car with a stick shift.

“I usually know how a clutch disengages, but I didn’t know how different it was from a stock car,” recalled Deegan, who only needed to advance the car about 15 feet.  “I didn’t know if I could engage it late, and I didn’t want to pop it out too early, and I wasn’t sure how much throttle you’ve got to use.”

Fortunately, Deegan pulled it off without incident and got her Ford career off on a good note.  Fast forward five months later and the anxiety that existed back then is totally gone.  That’s because she has become a self-professed “stick shift expert” as the result of getting her very own Mustang Shelby GT350 to drive around the family compound in southern California and points beyond.

“I’ve always loved fast cars, but my family is not into that.  They’re into trucks,” said Deegan, whose father, Brian, has driven his share of Raptors as part of Ford’s off-road racing program.  “I kind of had an idea I was getting one, but I didn’t know when or which one or what color, and whether it was going to be a GT350 or GT500 or just the basic Mustang.  Needless to say, I was excited when I came home one day and saw it in the driveway.” 

However, keeping her new pride and joy looking good has proven to be a challenge because the Deegan’s live off a three-mile patch of dirt road. There is an alternative route, but a series of rain ditches present an obstacle that would likely do damage to the bumpers, leaving her with no choice but to drive though the clouds of dust.

“Even though it’s white it still shows a lot of dirt, but I’ve accepted it,” said Deegan.  “My dad is always telling me I need to wash my car and I say, ‘I’m going to wash my car, but then it’s just going to get dirty down the road within five minutes.’”

For a driver who is just six weeks away from turning 19 years old, Deegan isn’t used to this kind of losing battle.  

Her competitive fire on the race track has resulted in becoming the first female driver in NASCAR history to win a race in what is now known as the ARCA Menards Series West (formerly K&N Pro Series West) in 2018.  She won three events overall in her two full seasons running that circuit before joining Ford and DGR-Crosley this year for a combined schedule of ARCA and IMSA events.

“It’s so much fun driving my GT350, and it’s almost like a race car,” said Deegan, who noted that she usually likes to engage the car’s sport mode just to make the exhaust sound louder.  “We race the GT4 in the IMSA Series and it’s almost relatable to that, so I’m driving and shifting and pretending I’m getting off the corners like when I’m in a race.”

With her time now being split between California and North Carolina, having a vehicle in both locations is a necessity.  So, with everyone in her family loving trucks, it’s only appropriate that she would have one as well. 

I’ve got the best of both worlds,” started Deegan.  “I drive a Raptor when I’m in North Carolina and that truck is really, really nice.  Everyone loves that truck, too.  You just feel so durable in it.  It just feels dense and you feel safe in it, and it’s so big, and you’re sitting so high, and you just feel like you’re almost in a Monster Truck.”

To say that Deegan is happy with what she’s driving on and off the track these days would be an understatement, but even with that, she’s got her eyes set on more.

“I want an old red Bronco so bad, like one of those that are all open inside,” she said.  “That’s been one of my dream old-school vehicles to get because they just look cool.  I’ve seen all those videos of teenagers and their friends from back in the day in their Bronco cruising around.  My mom would tell me stories because one of her best friends had a Bronco and they’d always go to the beach.  It has no windows and it just has the full California vibe, so I love it.”

Her wish list ends with a vintage Mustang, one that has been fully refurbished and can be driven around the way it should be – stick shift and all.