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Indy NXT sensation Hailie Deegan has announced that she will be participating in the 2025 Freedom 500, organized by YouTuber-turned-professional-racer Cleetus McFarland. The YouTuber uploaded a post on Instagram about the final entries for the race, which Deegan shared on her account.
The 2025 Freedom 500 will take place at the Freedom Factory on April 4th. McFarland shared the final entries, and the list includes Michael Waltrip, Alex Hodges, Shaun Umscheid, also known as the No Way Guy, Whistlin Diesel, Westen Champlin, and Deegan. Car part supplier Summit Racing will be the title sponsor for the 2025 Freedom 500.
The caption of the post uploaded by Cleetus McFarland read:
“The final few entries to the @summitracing Freedom 500 on April 4th! Let's go!!!!”
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The post included seven pictures, one each of all the drivers announced as the final entries. Hailie Deegan shared her picture from the post on her Instagram story on March 13, 2025. Deegan tagged Freedom Factory and Cleetus McFarland in the caption as it read:
“See you guys at the @freedom.factoryusa 🇺🇲 @cleetusmcfarland”
The Freedom 500 is an annual promotional race organized by Cleetus McFarland at the Freedom Factory in Florida. The YouTuber owns the track, which is used for multiple events and car shows throughout the year. The Ford Crown Victoria is used as the race car for the event.
Hailie Deegan was set to race in the 2022 Freedom 500 but pulled out of the race after receiving death threats. The former NASCAR driver explained the same in a YouTube video titled ‘Our Lives Are Being Threatened’, which was uploaded on Deegan's YouTube channel.
McFarland made his NASCAR debut earlier this year at the Daytona International Speedway, where he raced in the ARCA Menards Ride the 'Dente 200. The YouTuber has over 4 million subscribers on his channel. The 2025 Freedom 500 winner will get to choose between a Mercedes Sprinter VIP van and a Chevrolet Corvette C8 Z06 as the prize.
Hailie Deegan expects to improve on her Indy NXT debut performance at Barber Motorsport
Hailie Deegan had a tough debut in the Indy NXT series, as the former stock car driver was multiple seconds off the pace of the leader. However, she improved over the race weekend, where she was about a couple of seconds slower in the qualifying and just a second or two slower in the race.
The American uploaded a Vlog from the debut on her YouTube channel, where she suggested having a better weekend at Barber Motorsport Park since she'd previously raced at that track. She said:
“Obviously Barber is a place I've been to and I'll have more experience there. I'll be way more comfortable. Right now I feel like I'm still trying to put everything together, like it hasn't slowed down for me yet. I'm not very smooth like it just hasn't really like flowed all together yet just because I haven't had a bunch of seat time here so it's something that I'm definitely working at trying to get better.” (8:40 onwards)
Hailie Deegan started the race at St. Pete from the back of the grid but was able to make up ground during the race and finished P14. Her teammate, Sophia Floersch, finished P12 after starting P17.
