HAILIE DEEGAN Makes Bold Jump from NASCAR Struggles to Indy NXT Challenge

March 3, 2025

• HAILIE DEEGAN’s NASCAR journey hit a wall after leaving AM Racing mid-season with zero top-10 finishes in 17 Xfinity Series races and just five top-10s across 69 Truck Series starts. Her candid admission that “it has not turned out the way that I expected” tells the story of a promising talent caught between limited opportunities and funding challenges that kept her from competitive equipment.
• The transition to HMD Motorsports and Indy NXT represents a complete career pivot for DEEGAN, who had zero open-wheel experience before mid-2024. She’s discovering the brutal reality that “the faster you try to go, the harder it is” while adapting to cars without power steering that demand serious gym time. Her 14th-place St. Petersburg debut focused on survival rather than speed – a realistic approach that shows she understands the learning curve ahead.
• While DEEGAN works through her adaptation process, rookie Dennis Hauger delivered a statement performance by dominating from pole to checkered flag at St. Petersburg. The contrast highlights just how steep DEEGAN’s climb will be, but she’s betting that her oval track experience will eventually translate to competitiveness. We’re watching someone rebuild their racing identity from scratch – and honestly, that takes guts in a sport that doesn’t hand out participation trophies.

am racing, hmd motorsports, indy nxt, nascar xfinity series