HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — NASCAR driver Hailie Deegan skipped last week’s Freedom 500 at Bradenton’s Freedom Factory in Florida, saying on Instagram that she had to “deal with something on the personal safety side of me” and her boyfriend, Chase Cabre, a fellow NASCAR racer.
In a YouTube video posted on Monday, Deegan explained how the couple has been the target of online harassment and death threats. The death threats were specifically targeted toward Cabre by an infatuated fan who was “catfished” by a fake Deegan account.
The fake Deegan account led the individual, an unidentified man, to believe that Cabre was abusing Deegan, and the person threatened to kill Deegan’s boyfriend.
The man became known to Deegan when he sent a rambling letter to her team’s race shop in Mooresville, N.C., describing his supposed “relationship” with her and later posting an Instagram video with a chilling message to Deegan’s boyfriend.
“Boy, I swear to [expletive] God if you ain’t out of North Carolina before the sun goes down, you’re guaranteed you’re gonna see my [expletive] face and that is the last thing you’re ever gonna see….I guarantee you that,” he said.
Deegan, realizing that the person lives near her race shop and her home, decided that this was a serious threat and began to take action to protect herself and her boyfriend.
“This guy’s very persistent on social media. He messages over and over … probably minimum 100 times a day. A prior boss actually reached out to one Chase’s family members and got in contact with Chase just to warn him of the situation because at work, he was always talking about how he was going to kill Chase and how much he hates Chase,” Deegan said in the YouTube video.
Law enforcement officials are watching Deegan’s property, and she also is now traveling with more security as they work with authorities to build a strong case against the suspect.
You can see Deegan’s full video here.
Deegan is scheduled to race at a local dirt track in Rowan County on Wednesday night. On Thursday night, she’ll compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville.