Hailie Deegan makes a stark admission about her IndyCar race suit

Former NASCAR driver Hailie Deegan recently posted updates from her media day for Indy NXT on Snapchat. She posted behind-the-scene glimpses of posing for the camera and a separate photoshoot for her helmet as well.

After sharing snippets from her move into her new IndyCar home, Hailie posted a snippet commenting on the comfort of her race suit. In her admission about the attire, the HMD Motorsports racer mentioned:

"The comfort level of a race suit is unmatched"

In October 2024, Hailie Deegan announced her departure from NASCAR to IndyCar, wherein the 23-year-old will be driving the No. 38 car for HMD Motorsports. Hailie began by racing dirt bikes and off-road vehicles before moving to stock car racing in 2016. She became the first female to win NASCAR's K&N West division series after winning three races from 2018-19.

Then, the former NASCAR racer spent 2020 in ARCA, finishing third in the title race post which she competed in the NASCAR Truck Series from 2021-23 and scored a best finish of sixth twice. While she started 2024 participating in the Xfinity Series, she split with AM Racing after 17 races and switched to IndyCar.

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"I would have loved to run Xfinity full-time": Hailie Deegan clarifies stance on returning to NASCAR

While Hailie Deegan has made a move to IndyCar and will debut in the 2025 Indy NXT Series, the 23-year-old speedster talked about being open toward returning to NASCAR in an interview with Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. Talking about the role of finances in her return to NASCAR, Hailie said:

“I mean, I wouldn’t say my NASCAR days are done. I think if there is an opportunity, if someone wants to pay for a ride, yeah, I’ll do it, but, as of now, there is… just… it’s too much money for a lot of sponsors to put to the table”

Additionally, in an interview on January 28, 2025, the HMD Motorsports racer expanded on her statement about finances playing an important role in racing. She said that not a lot of opportunities come unless one has deep pockets which is something people fail to realize "on the NASCAR side of things". Hailie Deegan added that if $6 million to run for a quality Xfinity team came out of nowhere she'd pursue the same.

Commenting on the reality of the economy with marketing and sponsorship budgets being cut, the former NASCAR racer mentioned:

“It’s hard to to say to a sponsor, ‘You spend a couple 100 grand for this race, you’re going to get your value.’ You can’t promise that to people.”

Hailie continued:

"So it’s very tough from that side. Obviously, I would have loved to run Xfinity full-time, but in a good car. The reality of that is, it takes a lot of sponsorship to do that.”

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Hailie Deegan also opened up about her IndyCar debut and mentioned that she has been "learning so much and having a blast doing it." The 23-year-old put forth her thoughts on not winning her first IndyNXT race, calling herself "realistic" and adding that she doesn't know how everyone races or how many wrecks there will be.