HAILIE DEEGAN Survives 10-Car Detroit GP Pile-Up, Gains Two Spots Despite Damage

June 3, 2025

by Yash Kotak // from www.sportskeeda.com

GRRL! SUMMARY:

HAILIE DEEGAN got swept up in a massive 10-car pile-up on the opening lap at Detroit GP when Ricardo Escotto plowed into her stationary car from behind. While her No. 38 HMD Motorsports machine had initially stopped cleanly after barely tapping the car ahead, the rear-end collision bent her rear suspension bars and destroyed the front wing, forcing an extended pit stop for repairs that put her three laps down.
Despite the early setback, DEEGAN salvaged a P16 finish – actually two positions better than her starting spot after a challenging Saturday qualifying session. The 23-year-old rookie managed to clock her fastest lap of the race during the green flag running, showing the kind of incremental progress that’s been her calling card this season as she transitions from NASCAR stock cars to open-wheel racing.
The Detroit disaster marked DEEGAN’s first real incident of what had been an impressively clean rookie campaign in Indy NXT. Her focus remains squarely on the learning curve rather than immediate results, with consistent lap time improvements at each race weekend proving her approach is working. Next up is her first oval race in an open-wheel car at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis, though she did get some preparation with testing at Nashville Superspeedway in April.