Get ready for the return of Hailie Deegan… to Nitrocross. Following months of speculation, the newly minted 23-year-old will reconnect with her off-road roots in the Side-by-Side class feature at Utah Motorsports Campus. But that’s not all. She’ll join a star-studded lineup including names like Lucy, Mika, and Kira Block, the wife, son, and daughter of the legendary Ken Block.
Deegan must prepare for an emotional weekend on October 5-6. After all, her father, Brian, and Ken Block were pivotal in shaping the US rallycross scene in its early days, alongside Travis Pastrana, who now soldiers the legacy forward as the founder of Nitrocross. And while she’s more famous on the stock car circuits, the history Hailie Deegan is about to embrace might even force her to rethink her ventures.
After her controversial split from AM Racing in June, it feels like she has been inching towards a permanent exit from NASCAR. So does her Nitrocross switch suggest a growing interest in dirt racing? As of right now, the answer would be no. But things could change at any moment.
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She’s already got an extensive off-road racing resume. Before her NASCAR journey, she became the first female driver to win a championship in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series in 2013, where she won the Junior 2 Karts class as a twelve-year-old. Plus, she is no stranger to Nitrocross either. Her last appearance in Travis Pastrana’s series was back in 2021 when it was still called Nitro Rallycross. That same year, Deegan won her first full-time NASCAR National Series contract with David Gilliland Racing in the Truck Series. Now, she’s circling back to the days gone by, but in a brand new way.
This weekend’s Nitrocross event will pack quite a sentimental twist. The series will return to where it all began in 2018 at the Utah Motorsports Complex as part of the Nitro World Games. Deegan will face off against three family members of the racing icon whose name graces the championship trophy. And to top it all off, series founder Pastrana, a longtime family friend of both the Deegans and the Blocks, will also compete in the SxS race.
Deegan had informed her earlier that her younger brother, Hudson, had also received an invitation from Pastrana to compete in the event. But after violently flipping their family UTV multiple times under the supervision of his sister, maybe a little sibling oversight suggested Hudson wait another day. However, the announced list of entrants in the SxS class is bound to give his sister some healthy competition.
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What lies ahead in the future?
As per a tentative press release on Utah Business, Deegan will face fierce competition from fellow drivers, including:
- Kira Block (Sunday only)
- Kory Willis
- Kainan Baker
- Luke Roberts
- Cash LeCroy
- Gray Leadbetter
- Lucy Block (Saturday only)
- Jacob Rosales
- Mia Chapman
- Mika Block (Sunday only)
- Jacob Geisendorff
- Nate Wessel
- Tyler Remmereid
- Terry Madden (Saturday only)
- Travis Pastrana (Saturday only)
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Fans can witness the action live at Utah Motorsports Campus on October 5th and 6th or catch the entire event for free on Rumble.com.
In other news, with Hailie Deegan set to return to Nitrocross, AM Racing recently announced Harrison Burton as her replacement for the 2025 Xfinity season. Some would suggest this to be a step backward in the career of a 21-year-old Cup race winner. How it all pans out remains to be seen. Regardless, maybe one full-time Nitrocross could give Hailie Deegan a chance to find her winning ways and get noticed by stock car teams again.
