"Lot of influencers put on a persona" - Hailie Deegan reveals her family's role in staying authentic on social media

Hailie Deegan's reign in the social media sphere started over a decade ago. Her parents, especially Motocross and rally driver Brian Deegan, started their initial climb to the top on YouTube. She recently reflected on how her family has aided her to be herself on social media by starting at a young age.

Deegan was a former NASCAR Xfinity series driver and made the switch to open-wheel racing for the 2025 season. She races for HMD Motorsports in the Indy NXT series and is making her debut in the series.

On the other hand, the 23-year-old has been a social media star since she was in her teenage years. Her dad, Brian, started posting videos on YouTube, including Hailie and her siblings.

This helped the Deegan family to build up fans in the social media era, and the channel "The Deegans" currently has 1.4 million subscribers. Her dad's efforts enabled Hailie to get a headstart on her own social media journey, as she has 1.6 million followers on Instagram.

Sharing on how being enveloped by social media at a young age helped her maintain her persona and prevented her from moving away from her natural personality, unlike contemporary social media influencers, Hailie Deegan said (via People):

"[I think] there's a lot of influencer people out there who put on a persona when they're being filmed because they did grow up with a normal childhood. And so they feel like for social media, they almost have to try to be either over the top or different person. But with all of us, that was normal. Everyone was always filming. It was totally fine. You'd just be how you are normally."

Hailie Deegan finished 14th on her debut race weekend in the series.

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Hailie Deegan reflects on her Indy NXT debut weekend

NASCAR Xfinity Series Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 - Source: Getty

After qualifying last for the race in St. Petersburg, a recovery drive to 14th showcased improvements over the race. Though Hailie Deegan had been lapping seconds slower than her rivals during qualifying, she reduced her deficit on the race day by a big margin.

Opening up on her first race weekend in the IndyCar junior ladder, the 23-year-old said (via Instagram/@HailieDeegan):

"Lots of first time experiences at St. Pete! Had a blast racing on a street course for the first time and was awesome to have my whole family there to enjoy it with me. Getting better every time I sit in the car! Just got to keep working hard at it @monsterenergy."

Hailie Deegan hopes for a better outing at the next race weekend in Alabama. The 23-year-old has previously raced at the 2.38-mile circuit and is optimistic about her first venture behind the wheel of an open-wheel car.

The race at the Barber Motorsports Park is scheduled to take place on May 4.