Rising stock car racing star Hailie Deegan continues to make a name for herself.

Deegan, 18, was the runner-up in her first ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, tying Shawna Robinson and Erin Crocker for the best finish by a female in an ARCA race. She hung among the top 10 for most of the race.

“Second is winning this weekend,” Deegan said. “I think winning the first race would have been a little too high of standards for us this season. Everything would have been downhill. So at least I have something to work toward.”

The California native was the first female to win a race in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series West when she was just 17 years old in 2018. She also piled on two more victories last season to finish in third place of the standings.

Deegan, who switched from Toyota’s development program to Ford’s in the offseason, will race next at the ARCA Series on March 6 at Phoenix Raceway. She said she learned a lot from Saturday’s race, noting that it’ll likely help her for the rest of the season.

“I feel like the first race sets the tone for the season,” Deegan said. “Having a good first race can help keep the ball rolling and help the guys at the shop. When you are on a nice, positive high level, you bounce that off each other and the work ethic and it just helps for the rest of the year.”

Named to NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity team in 2016, Deegan was awarded the NASCAR Diversity Young Racer award the following year before becoming one of nine drivers to be named to the 2017 NASCAR Next class. She was both the youngest member and the only female member of the team.

Deegan became a full-time driver in January of 2018 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West for Bill McAnally Racing (BMR), a prestigious team that had won the West Series championship in each of the past three seasons. She was the only female driver who competed full-time in either 2018 K&N Series.

Ending the 2019 season with a fourth-place finish at ISM Raceway, Deegan clinched third in the final championship point standings.