Hailie Deegan Signs With HMD For 2025 Indy NXT Season

Source: Logan Riely / Getty

BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Hailie Deegan has been a polarizing figure within the realm of stock car racing for the better part of the last decade. Having worked her way up from Late Models to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, her aggressive driving style has served her well.

That style will be put to a different test in 2025 as Deegan, who was unable to secure a long-term deal anywhere in the ranks of stock car racing, will make the transition to cars with wings as she signs for the full Indy NXT Series season with HMD Motorsports.

“I am excited about the opportunity and look forward to working with a proven program in HMD Motorsports,” Deegan said. “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.”

Deegan has three career wins in her seven years of professional driving experience. She won her first race in 2018 driving for Bill McAnally Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The following year she won two races finishing third in the K&N Pro Series West championship.

Since then Deegan has made over 100 starts in the ARCA Menards Series, the Craftsman Truck Series, and SRX Series. This past season Deegan made 17 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series finishing as high as 12th at Talladega.

Deegan’s pivot to Indy NXT is season as somewhat of a surprise given Deegan’s favorable reputation in other forms of racing. Most recently, Deegan returned to her roots in off-road racing taking part in a Nitrocross event in Utah.

Regardless, it is also indicative of how versatile of a driver she has become.

“Hailie, and especially the Deegan name, are huge in motorsports, and we welcome them to the HMD Motorsports family,” said team president Mike Maurini. “Hailie has already been out to the shop and is taking the move to open-wheel racing seriously.”

Deegan is also the second high-profile female driver to announce her move to the IndyCar ladder series in the last three years. She joins Jamie Chadwick in the Indy NXT paddock. Chadwick came to North America from Europe where she competed in the now-defunct W Series and before that was competing well in the Formula 1 ladder.