Haiden Deegan was in fine form as usual in the post-race press conference after his superb victory in Arlington, as his refreshing honesty rose to the fore when speaking on some key topics. Words: Edward Stratmann
When asked about the keys to winning this one in dominant fashion, his answer was typically strong. “I just needed to get back to the Danger Zone pretty much. Just got to get back to, I feel like I used to have a lot of intensity, that’s kind of what I am known for is that grit and that intensity and just that dog in me – and that is what I had to get back. Working towards it during the week and I feel like it’s back a little bit. Obviously, got the win, so it worked a little bit,” insisted Deegan.
“I want to win so bad. It’s just trying to stay locked in now during these weeks. Also during the weeks, trying to make it fun for me. I thrive off that. I’m still young, I’m still a teenager so I want to go have fun during the week and it helps me perform on the weekends.”
He then shared his thoughts about not working with Craig individually any longer, explaining: “Yeah Christian is still a big part of the Star program. He’s still helping mentor all of us and he is still in my corner deeply as a friend. And he still helps us out. Swanny was kind of already helping us in the first place, like sending the program to Christian and stuff. He was just kind of there to apply it, and I was trying my own one-on-one thing. I was trying to ride by myself to see if I could get better in a way. It is none of Christian’s fault, it’s my decision in the end. I just went back to training with the team and Swanny to get that intensity back. I feel like riding by myself, maybe I lost a little of that. I just had to get back in that Swanny and training with those guys and battling it out and having those little rivalries during the week. That’s really the only reason.”
Having taken over the championship lead from Julien Beaumer, who suffered a dislocated shoulder in Arlington, Deegan is now well and truly in the driver’s seat to secure the 250SX West title.
Image: Star Racing
