The Inside Scoop On Hailie Deegan’s Alleged Shocking Return to MHR in 2026

Deegan and MHR were not a combo I’m sure anyone had expected to see or even heard rumored, but here we are. MHR has turned a corner in recent years, from mid-packers scratching at the playoffs to having Eckes out on one of the greatest truck series seasons in history.

Can They Bring Her Back to Form?!

Deegan has been in Indy NXT recently, and while a month ago she did get her best result in Indy NXT at Laguna Seca, it was 11th. On a team that finished 2nd in the championship as well, so yeah, that didn’t go well at all. It seems she’s willing to write that off as a failed experiment and return to the sport that made her name. Even if she famously struggled throughout her entire time in the top 3 series.

Last time in trucks, she was with title winners Thorsport; she only had 2 top tens. Then, in Xfinity with AM, she was fired mid-season after not securing a single top ten, while in the two seasons that followed, they had 21 top tens without her and made the playoffs with Harrison Burton. MHR, while not as consistent as they were last year with Eckes, are still having a pretty good year, with Hemric and Ankrum having a win apiece and both making the playoffs this season, but they’re a team split in half.

Full-time rookie Connor Mosack is 14th in points, with only three top tens and no top fives. While Jack Wood is part-time, but in most of the races this year. Is 19th in points with only a single top ten. So it’s still a team figuring things out, and they haven’t helped improve drivers who came in with questionable records before, like Mosack and Wood, so is MHR the right place for Deegan? I would say not. I’d say NASCAR isn’t even the right place for her at this point!

 Will Deegan Re-Sign with MHR?!

It hasn’t been widely reported, although credible sources have covered it, and there has been silence since it’s not a confirmed fact. There’s also the fact that there have been no reports as to whether she’ll resign from HMD and return to Indy NXT or if she’s even considering it. Lastly, there are zero rumors as to whether she’s currently talking to any teams other than MHR. So, in other words, there really isn’t enough to say if she is or not. We do know that Deegan is the type of driver MHR loves, like Mosack, Wood, and even Ankrum. All of whom bring sponsorship, which she does as well.

Should Deegan Return With MHR?!

I don’t think so. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot; there’s no way I can find out without stalking her and her family. So this is based on what little I can see. At Thorsport, where she was involved in a crash early on after she qualified 5th, a shift in her mindset that was for the worst was exposed. Her crew chief that year, Rich Lushes, interviewed Sirius XM. Where he said he expected her to be more aggressive and not to take anything from anyone.

But his radio to Deegan during the 1st Vegas race of the year. He urged his driver to be more aggressive and urgent after she had already fallen from 5th to 23rd by the end of stage 1, and multiple times after this. A downfall that all started when Homles and teammate Rhodes put her three wide as soon as the race began, and she didn’t even make contact or try to move Homles up the track. Only held her line and fell back on the field.

Compare that to when she was getting Dale Sr. comparisons in her ARCA West race today after she won all of her races by passing someone late in the race. She went from an aggressive go-getter to completely passive, and if that’s not an issue she’s fixed, she’ll remain as uncompetitive as she was in 2023. Thanks a bunch for reading!