Haley Deegan celebrates an emotional ARCA West Series victory with a last-lap pass at Madera Speedway in Saturday night’s Madera 150.
MADERA, Calif. — Haley Deegan’s long, winding road to racing has led her back to the ARCA Menards Series West in 2026. And on Saturday, the tenacity that kept him behind the wheel of a stock car paid off.
Haley Deegan celebrates victory
Two thousand six hundred and sixty-seven days. entering the Madera 150 at Madera Speedway, that’s how long it had been since Haley Deegan last visited West Series Victory Lane. By the time the checkered flag was waved, the count was reset.
Deegan passed defending Western Series champion Trevor Huddleston in the final lap to win the Madera 150, his fourth career Western Series victory.
“Today I said to myself. “If I’m there, I exploit it. I’m going to do everything I can to win this damn race,” Deegan said. “We had a car that could win it. The guys at Bill McAnally Racing gave me a great car.”
Huddleston dominated most of the Madera 150, but caution flags kept the pilot of the No. 50 Ford Mustang honest. Deegan, on the other hand, ran near the front of the field most of the night, but didn’t challenge Huddleston until late in the race.
Following his Bill McAnally Racing teammate Mason Massey’s spin shortly after the restart with 26 laps remaining, Deegan moved into second and had a chance to challenge Huddleston for the lead.
His first two attempts to challenge Huddleston failed as he slipped away from him on the restart. But, as they say, third time’s a charm.
A multi-car crash on the restart with three laps remaining created an overtime restart and Deegan made the most of it. He stayed glued to the inside of Huddleston, and in the third and fourth turns of the final lap, the two made contact, pushing Huddleston to the track and allowing Deegan to slide to his first Western Series win since 2019.
“I’m tearing up right now, it’s been a long time since I’ve won a race,” Deegan said as he fought back tears in Victory Lane. “I just want to thank everyone, everyone who still believed in me. It was difficult.
“Just to see everyone still supporting me these days is amazing. It doesn’t go unnoticed and I appreciate each and every one of you.”
Huddleston finished second after leading most of the race, but extended his Western Series championship lead as he looks to secure back-to-back championships.
Kenna Mitchell earned a career-best third, followed by Robbie Kenley and Massey. Joey East, Ethan Nascimento, Will Robinson, Andrew Chapman and Eric Rhead were sixth through tenth, respectively.
Next
The ARCA Menards Series West season continues Friday night with the Kyle Busch Classic presented by Star Nursery at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Fans can watch the event live starting at 6:00 PM PT / 9:00 PM ET exclusively on FloRacing.
Related to:
