Hailie Deegan shares candid reaction to her racer family witnessing her Indy NXT debut at St. Pete

Hailie Deegan made her Indy NXT debut at the 2025 Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg. The 23-year-old made the move from stock car racing to open-wheel racing for the 2025 racing season. Hailie's father, Brian Deegan came out to support his daughter at her debut Indy NXT race.

FOX reporter Jamie Little caught up with the Deegan family in the Indy NXT paddock at St. Pete as Hailie Deegan was out on the track. Little asked Brian about his feelings as he saw his daughter make the Indy NXT debut. The Motocross legend said:

“You know, for her to take on a new challenge. I know it's a steep learning curve for her, but I'm excited. As a parent, you like to see that. And nervous, right? It’s still our daughter going very fast in her very small race car. So it's nerve wracking. But it's cool to see a new sport like this for her.”

The camera then panned out and took the whole Deegan family in the frame before cutting to Hailie Deegan on the track. The 23-year-old Monster Energy sponsored driver reacted to the same video uploaded by IndyCar on FOX.

Hailie Deegan shared the video on her Instagram story and was thankful to her family for making it to her Indy NXT debut. The caption of the story read:

“Glad the fam was able to make it out for my first @indynxt race! It's tough trying to make it to another races when the whole family is racing”

Image credits: Instagram/@hailiedeegan

Hailie Deegan raced in a couple of Formula Regional Americas Championship races toward the end of 2024, which happened to be her first time in an open-wheel racing car. Deegan continued to practice in the FR car throughout the off-season to get a grasp of the open-wheel racing car.

Yet, Deegan struggled during her Indy NXT debut as she qualified last in her group and was over 3 seconds slower than the group leader. The 23-year-old started the race last, but battled throughout the race and finished mid-pack in P14.

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Hailie Deegan opened up to Jamie Little about adjusting to the needs of the Indy NXT cars

Hailie Deegan began her racing career in dirt track, just like her father, and raced in the LOORRS (Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series). She then moved to race on tarmac with stock cars and made the switch to open-wheel racing cars later last year.

Jamie Little caught up with Hailie Deegan ahead of her Indy NXT debut and asked her about the difference between stock car and open wheel racing series. The FOX reporter detailed Deegan's answer on broadcast as she said:

“So I talked to her yesterday and said, 'What's the biggest difference for you?' She said, 'These cars are so hard to drive'.”

“A lot of little comfort adjustments she's having to make, and now just trying to learn this car. She's had three days of testing and that is it. So she's struggling a bit here in practice but it is all about getting comfortable at this point,” added Jamie Little.

Hailie showed improvement in her lap times over the weekend and will only get better with more track time in a competitive environment.