Saturday's female fever continues as Hailie Deegan wins the final race.
Saturday's time trials for the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame were a special one. The polesitter for the race was Mia Lovell, who was joined in by Hailie Deegan in second place. It was the first time that the top-two spots were occupied by women. But that was not it. Lovell and Deegan continued their advance to the race and created history once more in the rain-swept event.
For the ARCA Menarda Series West finale, racing was shortened to merely 42 laps after pouring rain forbade the organizers from continuing the race. As a result, Hailie Deegan from Bill McAnally Racing won the season finale, followed by Mia Lovell. It was a special day to celebrate women in NASCAR. Kevin Harvick Kern's Raceway also crowned Trevor Huddleston as the champion after he finished in the top 5.
Deegan Takes the Lead to Make ARCA Comeback
2026 couldn't get any better for Hailie Deegan. After the struggle she faced in the previous years, Deegan has found success once more in the ARCA series. It was her second victory of the season, and it is bound to provide her with some much-needed confidence boosts as she attempts to revive her stock car racing career.
“I felt like I was mad at qualifying because I qualified off the pole by 0.007 [seconds], so I was frustrated myself. We were able to get the lead quick and checked out from there,” said Deegan during post-race.
Owing to the conditions in which she claimed her victory, Deegan did end up ruffling some feathers. Many among the audience feel like she didn't deserve the victory for simply leading the race at the right moment. Yet, despite all that chatter, it was Deegan and Lovell who set the benchmark during the time trials.
The duo was undoubtedly among the fastest this weekend, and how they claimed their podiums was simply a virtue of how motorsports works. They had led the race for the entire first stage when rain stepped in. And undoubtedly, they would win the race in 1-2 with the correct strategy from their teams. In truth, both Mia Lovell and Hailie Deegan are the most deserving winners of the final race weekend.