Hailie Deegan finally makes ground in Indy NXT with improved pace at Nashville test

Hailie Deegan was one of 19 drivers who took part in Indy NXT's open testing at the Nashville Superspeedway on April 2. It was her first time on an oval in an Indy NXT car. Compared to her previous test outings this year and her performance at the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Deegan showed an improved pace.

The former NASCAR driver had struggled during the first two-day preseason test at Sebring in mid-January. She was nearly three seconds off the pace on day one. However, by the end of day two, she reduced the gap to 1.8 seconds from table-topper Dennis Hauger, still a considerable margin. Deegan's second test at Laguna Seca was curbed halfway by logistical issues. Indy NXT (the topmost rung of the IndyCar ladder series) didn't release the official timesheets for the test.

At the first race of the season, the HMD Motorsports driver had a terrible qualifying session. She finished dead last out of 11 in Group 2, over 2.3 seconds behind Bryce Aron in 10th, and 3.34 seconds off the group leader's pace. In the race, Deegan finished 14th out of 21 drivers, but last among those who didn't suffer contact or other issues.

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At the Nashville test on Tuesday, Deegan wasn't dead last like in the aforementioned instances. She completed 127 laps around the 1.33-mile circuit with a best lap time of 00:25.9388 in her No. 38 car. She finished 15th out of 19 drivers and was just over four-tenths off leader Dennis Hauger's pace.

Deegan's improvement at the Nashville Superspeedway came as a full-circle moment. It was after the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the oval that AM Racing parted ways with her midway through the season.

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Hailie Deegan's take on the differences between NASCAR's stock cars and Indy NXT cars

Hailie Deegan's No. 38 Indy NXT car at IndyCar's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Source: Getty

Hailie Deegan struggled with two major challenges when she made the jump from NASCAR to Indy NXT. The first was the increased physicality demanded by open-wheel cars, which forced her to overhaul her training regimen. Deegan realized that "NASCAR is one of the most unphysical forms of racing."

The second challenge was getting used to tire behavior. Talking about her first impression of the difference in tire performance after the preseason tests, Deegan said (via Pit Debrief):

"We did a lot of runs on old tires, getting used to it and I struggled a little bit going out on new tires, because like for me, the first lap on new tires in stock cars is your fastest lap usually per second. And so that’s the best lap. That’s the best the car is going to feel. Then you come on these [Indy] tires and, which is so normal for open-wheel racing, they take quite a few laps to come in, and they’re like straight ice when you get on new tires. And so, I had to learn that side of things."

The next Indy NXT race is the Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Hailie Deegan is familiar with the track, which gives her more clarity going into her first open-wheel race there.