Hailie Deegan will make the move from stock cars to open-wheel cars in 2025 as she will compete in a full 14-race season in Indy NXT, a development series for IndyCar.
The 23-year-old Deegan, the daughter of action sports star Brian Deegan, competed in three seasons in NASCAR’s truck series and drove the first half of 2024 in the Xfinity Series. After having success as a rookie in ARCA in 2020 in finishing third in the standings, she struggled the last four years with five top-10s in 85 starts in NASCAR national series events.
“I am excited about the opportunity and look forward to working with a proven program in HMD Motorsports,” Deegan said in a news release. “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 had various test sessions with the team and her first open-wheel race will be later this month in the Formula Regional Americas race at Circuit of the Americas.
“Hailie, and especially the Deegan name, are huge in motorsports, and we welcome them to the HMD Motorsports family,” HMD Motorsports President Mike Maurini said. “Hailie has already been out to the shop and is taking the move to open-wheel racing seriously.”
Starting in 2025, the entire Indy NXT season will be televised by FOX Sports, with most of the races on FS1 and the remaining races on FS2.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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This article was originally published at www.foxsports.com
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