Hailie Deegan Gets An Early Look at What She’ll Face At Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Hailie and Haiden did several laps around the Speedway for the cameras, with Haiden even showing off a bit by doing wheelies on his bike.

Also joining in the fun was their father Brian and mom and social media influencer Marissa, who will both also be featured in the upcoming People story on the Deegan family.

It has been a bit of a transition for Hailie in her switch to open-wheel cars, after struggling for 3 ½ seasons in NASCAR, with her best season finish being 17 in her rookie season in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2021.

After three years in a Truck, Hailie shifted to the Xfinity Series in 2024, competing in 17 of 33 races and finishing a disappointing 32^nd in the overall season standings.

With her future in NASCAR looking cloudy at best, the now 23-year-old Deegan (turns 24 in July) jumped at the opportunity HMD offered to try her hand at open-wheel racing.

Admittedly, switching from stock cars to open-wheel cars has been a challenge, but Deegan showed promise in her first NXT race nearly two weeks ago in St. Petersburg, Fla., starting 22^nd and finishing 14^th, avoiding on-track conflict and bringing the car home in one piece.

The former teen phenom in the ARCA West Series – she won three races as a 17-year-old – struggled in her NASCAR apprenticeship, never winning a race nor even earning a top five in either a Truck or Xfinity ride (she did have five top-10s in a Truck).

The Temecula, Calif. resident knows she has a learning curve in NXT, but is confident in her ability, telling IndyCar.com:

“I want to progress. I want to learn. I want to learn the dynamics of these cars. I don't want to go and say: ‘Oh, I'm tight or loose or understeer, oversteer.’ I don't want to do that when I can say: ‘I want to make this change. I want to do this, that.’ So, really learning the dynamics and everything, understanding every single side of this world, is what my goals are.”

On IndyCarOnFox’s Instagram page, a couple of notable names gave Deegan some positive feedback as she and her sibling did some side-by-side showcasing for the People cameras at IMS:

FOX Sports’ Jamie Little said, “That’s pretty amazing” with a fire emoji.

And McLaren Racing star Pato O’Ward remarked, in a good way, “This is pretty sick.”

Deegan has quickly begun to adapt to the totally different style of racing than she's used to, as well as the different types of race fans and crowds and the physical and mental differences of driving an open-wheel car vs. a stock car.

She even gave herself a pat on the back on what she did at IMS on her Instagram account with a one-word description: “Epic (with a fire emoji).”

Deegan’s next race won’t be until May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., followed by back-to-back races on the IMS road course on May 9 and May 10.