After a failed attempt in her NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time debut this year, Hailie Deegan is changing gears and exiting the organization to pursue a new challenge in open-wheel racing.
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Starting in 2025, Deegan will compete in the Indy NXT Series with HMD Motorsports, taking the helm of the No. 38 car for the entire 14-race season, which is just one tier below the main IndyCar series.
Deegan, a trailblazer in motorsports, has been a fixture in racing since 2017, winning three races in the ARCA Menards Series West before advancing to compete full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2021.
Despite high hopes, her truck series tenure yielded just five top-10 finishes in 69 starts. After dipping her toes into the Xfinity Series in 2022 on a part-time basis, she escalated to full-time competition in NASCAR’s equivalent of Triple-A in 2024.
During her full-time run with AM Racing, Deegan raced in 17 events before their paths diverged following the Nashville race. At that race, she ranked 27th in the standings, and Joey Logano was announced as the next driver.
Fans appear negative regarding Deegan’s Indy move
Following the announcement on the Indy NXT by Firestone social media about Deegan’s switch to open-wheel racing next year, fan reactions were sharply critical.
One comment read, “Feel bad for that teams shop, they’ll have to fix the car every dang week after she wrecks .” Another fan, poking fun at the anticipated damage, remarked, “RIP to the team’s fabricators.”
One fan bluntly predicted her future struggles, saying, “She will fail there also,” while another skeptically noted, “Guess they never watched any NASCAR tapes.”
BREAKING: @HailieDeegan is set to make her #INDYNXT debut with @HMDMotorsports, piloting the No. 38 in 2025. pic.twitter.com/T1aJfY8X25
— INDY NXT by Firestone (@INDYNXT) October 14, 2024
Deegan is embracing a new chapter with enthusiasm
While it’s still up in the air whether Deegan is still under contract with Ford as a Performance developmental driver, her shift to Indy NXT marks a big change in her racing career. She’s set to dip her toes into open-wheel racing later this month, participating in the season’s final Formula Regional Americas race at Circuit of the Americas.
In a statement about her move, Deegan expressed her anticipation, “I am excited about the opportunity and look forward to working with a proven program in HMD Motorsports. I have much to learn, but I am ready to go. The team brings a wealth of knowledge for me to pull from, and I look forward to soaking up as much of that as possible before my race debut next March in St. Petersburg.”
With the transition, Deegan will become the only female driver since Danica Patrick to compete in IndyCar and NASCAR. But will she be successful in open-wheel racing? That is something we’ll get to know about after she starts her full-time Indy NXT season next year.
