Deegan’s Sonoma Run Goes Sour

Hailie Deegan’s return to Sonoma Raceway resulted in a sour tone as she was credited with a 20th-place finish on Friday afternoon. The driver of the No. 16 Columbia Bank Chevrolet SS was hampered by a skipping motor at the drop of the green flag and ultimately completed 29 of the 47 laps.

Deegan’s third ARCA Menards Series West outing at Sonoma Raceway began with an encouraging start after posting the ninth-fastest lap in the morning practice. However, an engine issue near the end of the session required the Columbia Bank team to swap powerplants and a transmission, which forced Deegan to start at the tail of the field. Unfortunately, the backup motor began skipping as the field rolled off as Deegan managed to preserve as much time as possible in the opening laps.

The No. 16 team made multiple attempts to address the issue, but were unable to find a culprit as Deegan was forced to retire eight laps shy from the finish in 20th position.

“Just a frustrating day,” Deegan said. “Our Columbia Bank Chevy had decent pace in practice, we were pretty happy with it and had a motor seize up on us at the end of the session. We weren’t able to qualify and took the green with the backup engine skipping. Disappointing for sure. I always enjoy racing at Sonoma and was excited about the day. Our teammates had speed today, so we’ll lean on them for some notes going to Portland.”

Start / Finish: 20 / 20
Points Standing / Total: 7th / 286 pts. (-62)

Next Race: Saturday, August 8, Portland International Raceway
How to Watch or Listen: 9:00 p.m. ET on Floracing.com

Hailie Deegan: @HailieDeegan
NAPA: @NAPARacing
Bill McAnally Racing / McAnally-Hilgemann Racing: @BMR_NASCAR