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Recently dropped from the Xfinity Series, Hailie Deegan is transitioning from stock cars to open-wheel racing with a debut run in the Indy NXT at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, Deegan’s first outing in a practice session was criticized by fans after she ranked last and was about three seconds off the pace.
Deegan, 23, is a professional racing driver who will join the Indy NXT field with HMD Motorsports next year. Her recent outing was part of the Chris Griffis Memorial Test where teams are allowed to test new drivers and new cars for the upcoming season.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post by Bob Pockrass, the veteran NASCAR reporter shared the timing sheet for the practice session at Indianapolis, showing Hailie Deegan ranked last in P22. One fan reacted by saying the driver should just retire at this point.
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“Damn Deegan at the bottom again… might be time to hang it up,” they wrote.
“When are we gonna give up on Danica 2.0? Deegan is 5MPH off the pace? Come on @MonsterEnergy stop this nonsense before it starts,” another fan wrote.
“Being 3 seconds off the pace and running one of the least amount of laps is crazy work,” a fan shared.
“[Deegan] performing as predicted. I just don’t get who thinks this is worth spending money on. The number of young experienced open-wheel drivers who deserve this opportunity over her is staggering,” another fan commented.
Meanwhile, a few X users came to defend the former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, pointing out that the practice session was her first time in an open-wheel car.
“Not a Deegan simp but y’all gotta realize that’s like her first time in one of these cars. She’s not gonna be pulling top lap times as a beginner..,” one fan wrote.
“I’m assuming HD is the only rookie with no real open-wheel experience?” another fan wrote.
Hailie Deegan will officially make her racing debut in the Indy NXT in 2025 with HMD Motorsports. She will team up with Caio Collet, Josh Pierson, Tommy Smith, and Bryce Aron.
Former NASCAR driver believes Hailie Deegan is taking a risk by switching to Indy NXT
Former NASCAR driver Conor Daly shared his opinion regarding Hailie Deegan’s move to Indy NXT. As an IndyCar driver himself, Daly understands the difference between the two series and wants Deegan to do well in her new venture.
On an episode of the Speed Street podcast, Daly gave Deegan credit for taking the risk.
“I give her credit for taking the risk," Daly said (via Dirty Mo Media on X). ”This is a difficult jump, this is really hard to make a switch of an entirely different lifestyle, essentially an entirely different driving style, an entirely different style of vehicle. But I respect the effort.”
The Juncos Hollinger Racing IndyCar driver added that her huge following on social media could discourage her if she fails to deliver.
“And again, she's got one of the biggest followings on the internet and always the people with the massive followings have more people that decide to slander her than anyone else and that's kind of shame. But I respect what she's doing," he added.
Hailie Deegan will join Indy NXT with professional racing experience from series such as NASCAR Xfinity, NASCAR Craftsman Truck, ARCA Menards, Nitrocross, and LOORRS.
