IndyCar Veteran & Part-Time NASCAR Driver on Hailie Deegan’s ”Difficult Jump” Into Open-Wheel Racing

Neha Dwivedi | 17/10/2024
IndyCar Veteran & Part-Time NASCAR Driver on Hailie Deegan’s ”Difficult Jump” Into Open-Wheel Racing

Hailie Deegan’s decision to transition to IndyCar beginning in 2025  has stirred the pot in the motorsports community and drawn commentary from racing veteran Conor Daly. Many fans were taken aback by her unexpected switch from NASCAR to Indy NXT. Daly acknowledged it as decidedly challenging.

He shared his thoughts on Dirty Mo Media, “I thought she would have ended up at a place like Andretti. Honestly, I thought that would have been the vibe there […] I give her credit for taking the risk. This is a difficult jump. This is really hard to make a switch to an entirely different lifestyle, essentially an entirely different driving style, and an entirely different vehicle. But I respect the effort.”

Daly, who competes in the IndyCar Series piloting the No. 78 Chevy for Juncos Hollinger Racing, pointed out that Deegan’s massive social media following sometimes makes her a target for extra criticism. He also shared that Deegan had reached out to him a few weeks ago about a video he posted on his YouTube channel, which detailed in-car adjustments in an IndyCar.

Deegan, who has been self-handling cockpit adjustments in her race car, had been eager to deepen her understanding. After bursting onto the professional racing scene in 2017, Deegan notched three wins in the ARCA Menards Series West and advanced to compete full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2021.

Despite high expectations, her stint in trucks culminated in just five top-10 finishes over 69 starts. Deegan then dipped her toes into the Xfinity Series on a part-time basis in 2022 and escalated to a full-time role in 2024. Her debut season with AM Racing ended with the team firing her midseason for lack of performance.

Veteran racer Marco Andretti rolls out the welcome mat for Hailie Deegan

Starting in 2025, Hailie Deegan will be racing in the Indy NXT Series, a platform that can be likened to the Xfinity Series in NASCAR. Should she perform well, Deegan may soon find herself ascending to the pinnacle of the sport — the IndyCar Series.

Motorsports icon Mario Andretti extended a warm welcome to Deegan on her new journey and shared her announcement post on X. He captioned it, “Welcome to heaven Hailie. You’ll love it !!!” Additionally, Kenny Wallace also threw his support behind the switch. He suggested that her move could be influenced by NASCAR’s apparent unpreparedness to fully embrace female drivers.

Deegan gets a fresh start with this latest move of hers. It is up to her now to break the negative image that the racing world has of her talents and prove the majority wrong. Maybe cleaner racing in open-wheel cars will allow her to do that.

Post Edited By: Gowtham Ramalingam
Hailie Deegan

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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