"Team was able to offer me a lot": Hailie Deegan shares why she chose HMD to begin her Indy NXT journey

NASCAR driver Hailie Deegan has made the switch to open-wheel racing, having recently announcing her plans to compete in the Indy NXT series for 2025, the feeder series for IndyCar. She was confirmed as the driver of the #38 entry for HMD Motorsports.

Deegan endured a disappointing spell in the NASCAR Truck Series and parted ways with AM Racing midway through her rookie Xfinity campaign. After testing F3 machinery with HMD Motorsports engineer Nathan Toney, she eventually signed a deal with the team for a full 14-race Indy NXT calendar.

The 23-year-old kicked off her open-wheel career in the Indy NXT Series test session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Friday, October 18. During the recent test session, she elaborated on her decision to join HMD Motorsports, owned by Henry Malukas.

Deegan explained that several factors influenced her decision to join the team, highlighting that HMD Motorsports was the right fit for both her and her partners. She also stressed that the team produces quality cars, and equipment, and is a highly competitive program.

"I flew out to Indy, I met with quite a few teams, kind of just see where would somewhere be that I feel at home, that would work for my partners and everything like that. There's a whole... so many pieces of puzzle the hospitality side of things, how to accommodate certain things. So I think finding a team that was able to do all that was really important for me." she told Frontstretch. [from 0:10]

"But also have very quality cars, equipment, and program be competitive. HMD's proven that they are. I think as a whole their team was able to offer me a lot of things I needed for myself," she added.

Past HMD Motorsports graduates to join the IndyCar Series include David Malukas, Linus Lundquist, Nolan Siegal, and others. Deegan will team up with Caio Collet, Josh Pierson, Tommy Smith, and Bryce Aron next season.

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Hailie Deegan highlights the differences between NASCAR and IndyCar

After rising through the ranks of stock car racing, Hailie Deegan found her first experience in Indy NXT machinery at the IMS road course to be unique. She highlighted the absence of a windshield or aero screen, which made her feel that her "head was ripping off".

"It's odd, it's definitely odd, it's different. For me not having a windshield — when you race at Daytona and Talladega, everything is still inside the car. If there is a little piece of anything in the air floating, like it falls to the ground. Like super super still, but you're obviously going like 190 mph." Hailie Deegan said in the aforementioned interivew. [from 2:49]

"But on this side of things, you're going that fast, you feel like your head's going to rip off because of the wind. So its something, I definitely have to get used to... Not having a windshield and being able to really feel everything is unique," she added.

The 2025 Indy NXT schedule includes 14 rounds, featuring four oval races (Gateway, Iowa Speedway, Milwaukee Mile, Nashville Superspeedway), and the rest of the schedule is run on road courses.1