After four subpar full-time seasons as a racer in the NASCAR National Series ranks, Hailie Deegan is going to attempt to rejuvenate her racing career in the Indy NXT Series in 2025. Deegan, 23, will officially join HMD Motorsports, a team owned by Henry Malukas.
According to a press release from IndyCar, Deegan will pilot the No. 38 entry for the five-car team in 2025, and will contest the full 14-race schedule in Indy NXT, which is the top developmental series for talent looking to make it to the NTT IndyCar Series.
Deegan will race alongside teammates Caio Collet, Josh Pierson, Tommy Smith, and Bryce Aron, and will get her first action behind the wheel at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test on Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
According to the team, Deegan has been taking her new role with HMD Motorsports seriously, and has already been fully in the swing of how things operate in the Indy NXT world.
“Hailie, and especially the Deegan name, are huge in motorsports, and we welcome them to the HMD Motorsports family,” HMD Team President Mike Maurini said. “Hailie has already been out to the shop and is taking the move to open-wheel racing seriously. She is looking for a place in the Indianapolis area to be immersed with the team and is already working with her engineer. We want to make sure she and all the other HMD Motorsports drivers are as ready as possible for every on-track session.”
It’s a massive change in career paths for the daughter of Brian Deegan, a world-class action sports star, but after fledgling through a miserable 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie campaign with the upstart AM Racing team, Deegan wanted to bet on herself by taking a chance to drive for a proven commodity in a top-tier racing series.
“I am excited about the opportunity and look forward to working with a proven program in HMD Motorsports,” Deegan said. “I have much to learn, but I am ready to go. The team brings a wealth of knowledge for me to pull from, and I look forward to soaking up as much of that as possible before my race debut next March in St. Petersburg.”
Deegan’s NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie campaign with AM Racing lasted 17 races before the team and Deegan mutually parted ways in July. After Deegan left, the team suffered through similar results for the most part with a rotating driver lineup.
Prior to moving to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Deegan had three disappointing full-time campaigns in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where she only recorded five top-10 finishes in 69 starts. Deegan’s best points ranking was 17th, which she pulled off driving for DGR, now TRICON Garage, in 2021. She was 21st and 19th in the point standings while driving for ThorSport Racing in 2022 and 2023.
Deegan hoped the move to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024 would provide the needed change to spark her NASCAR driving career, but it just never panned out. Deegan will now look to right her racing career in the open-wheel world beginning in 2025.
