\n
When Shawna Robinson was trying to break into NASCAR in the 1990s, she encountered car owners who believed female drivers were too emotionally unstable to succeed and competitors who told her a woman\u2019s place wasn\u2019t behind the wheel. Sponsors also were so clueless about how to market a female driver that K-Mart once dressed her in khaki pants and one of her male teammates\u2019 golf shirts for a photoshoot.<\/p>\n
It saddens Robinson that NASCAR hasn\u2019t progressed further toward gender equality over the past two decades, but she does believe young female drivers like Deegan have it easier than their predecessors. Deegan is starting her racing career in the post-Danica era, a time when sponsors have already witnessed the mass appeal of a woman competing in a man\u2019s world and are eager for NASCAR to develop another female challenger.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot has changed since I was running,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cSurely it\u2019s not going to be that long before another woman comes along and takes advantage. No way. The world has changed too much, especially the empowerment of women. Young girls have more confidence and more opportunities now, so I\u2019m hoping that in three years we see somebody running in one of the top series full time.\u201d<\/p>\n
It won\u2019t surprise Deegan\u2019s family if she\u2019s the one to do it because motorsports success is the norm in her household. Thirteen-year-old Haiden Deegan is a motocross phenom who has already earned the nickname \u201cDanger Boy.\u201d Eight-year-old Hudson Deegan has been hitting jumps and doing wheelies on his motorcycle since soon after he was old enough to walk.<\/p>\n
The Deegan children attribute their success in part to the influence of their father. Brian has somehow managed to provide his kids with a sprawling backyard motorsports paradise and top-flight equipment, while also instilling the humility, work ethic and competitive spirit that helped fuel his own ascent a generation earlier.<\/p>\n
When Brian graduated high school at age 17, he persuaded his father to give him one year to pursue motocross full time before deciding whether to attend college. As a result, Brian left his native Nebraska and headed west on Interstate 80 with nothing but an improbable dream, an old yellow truck, two dirt bikes and a credit card.<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove to California by myself and slept on my buddy’s floor,\u201d Brian said. \u201cI was like, ‘I’m not going back. I have to make this work.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Taking that massive risk was the catalyst for Brian\u2019s journey from empty-pocketed motocross privateer, to swashbuckling freestyle motocross pioneer, to the most innovative entrepreneur in action sports.<\/p>\n
Brian generated a massive following and helped popularize the X Games with his fearless stunts and spectacular crashes. As his stature increased, he shrewdly cashed in on his outlaw image by founding the Metal Mulisha, a group of talented but notoriously wild freestyle riders whose rebellious appearances helped spawn a popular lifestyle clothing brand.<\/p>\n
Landing gravity-defying tricks on his bike might still be Brian\u2019s primary focus were it not for a life-altering 2005 crash that did more than just crack a few bones. Brian lost a kidney and severely lacerated his spleen when he under-rotated a backflip and his handlebars slammed into his midsection while filming for MTV\u2019s Viva La Bam.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight before I was going into surgery, I was praying that I didn\u2019t die and the doctor asked me if there was anything I wanted to tell my family,\u201d Brian said. \u201cIt really was that close to death. Unfortunately, it took that for me to go, ‘Man, what am I doing? This could all be over.’ \u201d<\/p>\n
When Brian woke up after surgery, he says he had \u201ca new appreciation for life.\u201d That meant curbing his careless, thrill-seeking ways, finding a safer competitive outlet and devoting more time and focus to his wife, Marissa, and their kids.<\/p>\n
An unintended consequence of Brian\u2019s transition to racing rally cars and off-road vehicles was that it sparked Hailie\u2019s interest in motorsports. At age 7, she spotted some older kids racing go-karts before one of her dad\u2019s races and begged her parents to let her do it the following year.<\/p>\n\nThe ‘backyard’ at the Deegan house is a racer’s paradise. (Courtesy of the Deegan family)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\nFor a while, racing was merely a hobby to Hailie, no more important to her than volleyball, Girl Scouts or arts and crafts. Only after she began winning races and contending for championships did she recognize she might have a future in the sport if she dedicated herself the same way her father did.<\/p>\n
Hailie asked to start homeschooling in seventh grade so she could devote more time to racing. In recent years, she has divided the bulk of her days between strength training and cardio work at the gym, driving at the track and completing schoolwork at home.<\/p>\n
Growing up in a family of racers has also helped stoke Hailie\u2019s competitive fire. The Deegans compete over everything, from who can expand their social media following the quickest, to who can run faster at the go-kart track.<\/p>\n
\u201cI push her, I spin her out, she does the same to me,\u201d Brian said. \u201cI don’t take it easy on the kids at the track. We go full on so we can be the best we can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Deegan isn\u2019t trying to outrun her dad, she\u2019s often working with her driving coach. She has impressed Troy Adams with her desire to learn, whether it\u2019s passing techniques on a short track, how to feel what mechanical changes would improve her setup or when to drive aggressively and when to save tires.<\/p>\n
One of the passing methods Deegan practiced dozens of times with Adams paved the way for her historic win last September at Idaho\u2019s Meridian Speedway. Deegan passed teammate Cole Rouse on the last lap by executing a textbook bump-and-run, moving her opponent out of the way without spinning him into the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe probably worked 3 or 4 hours on just that until she got it, so it was cool to see her use it on the last lap of the race,\u201d Adams said. \u201cThat was probably one of the highlights of 2018 for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"LAS](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/z8XfWU1A2mdO5.88.8JNQg--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5c7f09002300001c0422c97d.jpeg\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/g\/images\/spaceball.gif\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/JTXa0.dTRTIWssktXp.eEA--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/5c7f09c03600008c186b29f6.jpeg\")