Hailie Deegan had been an up-and-coming NASCAR driver before her Xfinity Series deal abruptly ended in July.
The 23-year-old Californian went looking for a new racing home and has found it in Indy NXT. She has joined HMD Motorsports for the 2025 season.
She told Dirty Mo Media that she started looking into the possibility of open-wheel racing soon after the break from NASCAR.
“I feel like I’m decent friends with some of the guys on the IndyCar side,” she said. “Let’s go to the IndyCar race at Iowa (in August). Let’s go check it out. Why not.”
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While NASCAR races primarily on ovals, she has road-course experience that she believes translates to Indy NXT.
“I like high grip stuff. I like tracks (that are) wide open a lot. I love road courses,” she said. “Maybe I should really look at this avenue.”
Hailie Deegan results
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Deegan drove 17 Xfinity races in 2024, with a best finish of 12th at Talladega.
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Deegan has driven 69 NASCAR Trucks races, with 5 top-10 finishes. One of those came at Mid-Ohio, where IndyCar races.
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Deegan has competed in 26 ARCA races, with 5 top-5 finishes.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hailie Deegan talks move from NASCAR to Indy NXT, open-wheel racing
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