CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hailie Deegan will make the move to NASCAR's second-tier Xfinity Series next season in a multi-year deal with AM Racing announced Thursday.

The 22-year-old Californian is the only woman competing full-time at NASCAR's national level and has spent the last three seasons in the Truck Series. Deegan has been in the Ford Performance development program since 2020 and Ford has entered her in a variety of different disciplines, including the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, the ARCA Series and trucks.

She's now getting her promotion to the next level and has backing from Ford, as well as new sponsors Airbox and Viva Tequila Seltzer. She said she is excited about the opportunity.

“From the start, the team has been nothing but great to work with, and the vision that (team president) Wade (Moore) has for the team to accomplish align with my values perfectly," Deegan said. "Through the support of Ford and the AM Racing team, I feel that we will achieve great things together in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and I can’t wait to see what the next few years have in store for all of us.”

Deegan is winless in trucks and has just five top-10 finishes. She failed to qualify for the playoffs and has an average finish of 21st. She entered one Xfinity Series race, at Las Vegas in 2022, and she finished 13th.

Deegan has one of the largest social media followings in NASCAR with 3.2 million followers on TikTok, 1.4 million followers on Instagram and 566,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel. Her popularity has maintained her value in NASCAR as she's trying to climb through the national series.

AM Racing will expand to two Xfinity cars next season. The team has fielded one car this year for Brett Moffitt, who is 15th in the standings but won the Truck Series race Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway driving for Front Row Motorsports.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing