Former NASCAR driver Hailie Deegan faced a challenging start to her open-wheel racing career during the Indy NXT season opener at St. Petersburg. The 23-year-old American driver, transitioning from stock cars to open-wheel machines, showed promising progress in her second Indy NXT race at Barber Motorsports Park, reaffirming her determination and belief in her driving abilities despite the steep learning curve.
Deegan made her initial foray into open-wheel racing last year in the Formula Regional Americas series for Toney Development Driver, where she also spent the winter break practicing, preparing for her Indy NXT debut. Although these efforts built her foundational experience, she struggled significantly at St. Pete, consistently trailing several seconds behind the leaders both in practice and race sessions.
However, over the course of the Indy NXT weekend, Deegan’s pace steadily improved. From being several seconds slower in early sessions, she narrowed the gap to just a couple of seconds behind the leaders during the race. At Barber Motorsports Park, her progress was even more marked. Having driven the Barber circuit during the offseason, she was familiar with the layout, which contributed to cutting her lap times significantly—reducing her deficit from nearly five seconds at St. Pete practice to less than three seconds behind the leaders at Barber.
Sharing insights on her YouTube channel, Hailie Deegan discussed the challenging transition from stock car racing to open-wheel vehicles, highlighting the stark differences such as aerodynamics and handling. She explained,
“Jumping from a stock car to an open-wheel racing car is arguably one of the hardest transitions, as there are hardly any similarities between the two, except that both have four wheels. The aerodynamics, the handling, it’s all different. In fact, an open-wheel racing car brakes traction if it’s going too slow since the downforce isn’t being generated. But it’s the opposite in a stock car.”
Entering the Barber race weekend with greater confidence than at St. Pete, Hailie detailed in her vlog how prior knowledge of the track helped boost her performance. Despite finishing last in practice sessions, she managed to improve her timing gap against the fastest drivers. In qualifying under wet conditions, she placed last in her group, roughly two seconds behind the fastest time. Starting the race in 19th position, Deegan ended the event in 17th place, ahead of Callum Hedge, while competitors Caio Collet and Nolan Allaer retired.
Looking ahead, the Indy NXT series will hold a doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 9 and May 10, offering Hailie Deegan another valuable opportunity to continue her open-wheel racing development and showcase her growing skills. Her steady improvement demonstrates resilience and eagerness to rise within a demanding motorsports discipline that challenges even the most experienced drivers.
