Was dirt racing a part of Hailie Deegan's career? Details explored as HMD racer shares 'back in the dirt' update

HMD Motorsports driver Hailie Deegan was seen at a dirt racing event. The 23-year-old uploaded an Instagram post about the same.

During the Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix held on March 2, Deegan made her open-wheel racing debut. During her maiden race, she qualified in the 21st position and finished the race in 14th as she managed to capitalize on the incident that took place on lap one of the race.

Hailie Deegan shared an Instagram post with a carousel of three pictures with the caption:

"Back in the dirt @monsterenergy @odysseybattery"

In the post, she could be seen posing next to her #38 Odyssey dirt car and she also uploaded a selfie in her primary sponsor monster energy's racing suit.

Deegan started her motorsport journey with dirt bikes at the age of seven, and later moved on to cars. Prior to joining IndyCar's development series, Deegan raced in the ARCA Menards series, where she won at the Las Vegas Motorspeedway using the last lap pass. This marked her second victory in the series after her first win in 2018. Her last appearance in dirt racing was at the Nitrocross event in Utah in 2024.

The young American driver moved to open-wheel racing after she failed to secure the sponsorship needed to progress further in her stock racing career. She competed in the Xfinity series with AM racing, where her highest race finish was at the Ag-Pro 300, in 12th place.

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Hailie Deegan feels nostalgic after appearing on FOX News

The former NASCAR driver Hailie Deegan appeared on FOX News' morning show, Fox and Friends along side her brother Haiden Deegan and her father Brian Deegan. She also uploaded a vlog to her YouTube channel about her NYC experience.

The young Indy NXT driver shared her experience of being on Fox and Friends for the first time. She was surprised at how quickly the shoot wrapped up despite her not knowing the questions in store for them.

The program lasted for only five minutes, with Brian Deegan talking about how he managed to pass down the speed bug to his kids and Hailie Deegan talking about her experience as a female Indy NXT driver. Her brother answered questions about his Motocross journey.

The 23-year-old spoke about how she felt nostalgic after appearing on the morning show because the program would be on when she stayed at her grandparents' house as a kid.

"It was definitely a cool experience. Never got to be on FOX News. That's super cool because every morning when I stayed the night at my grandparents' house... because a lot of times when my dad was racing, I would be at my grandparents' house staying there. And FOX News was on before the sun was even up in the morning. So I definitely feel super nostalgic, super cool moment for me, happy to be a part of it," she said. [4:20 onwards]

Hailie Deegan is currently enjoying her time off while also gearing up for her upcoming race at Barber Motorsports Park on May 4.