After making her way through the ranks of dirt racing and stock car racing, Hailie Deegan will shift her focus to open-wheel racing in 2025, competing in INDY NXT by Firestone with HMD Motorsports.

Deegan will drive the No. 38 entry for the full 14-race calendar of INDY NXT, the INDYCAR development series. Deegan, 23, becomes the fifth confirmed driver for HMD Motorsports, joining teammates Caio Collet, Josh Pierson, Tommy Smith and Bryce Aron and will join her teammates at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test on Friday, Oct. 18 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

“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.”

While Deegan has not competed in any open-wheel racing, she has been hard at work in preparation for the upcoming season. Working closely with Nathan Toney, former HMD Motorsports engineer and owner of Toney Driver Development, Deegan has completed test sessions at various circuits. She will gain her first open-wheel race experience later this month in the final race of the Formula Regional Americas season at Circuit of the Americas.

“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.”

Southern California native Deegan comes to the series with a diverse racing resume. Her experience spans several championships, including the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS), NASCAR K&N Pro Series, ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. She is the daughter of Brian Deegan, freestyle motocross legend and 16-time X Games medalist in motocross and rallying.

In LOORRS, Hailie Deegan earned a class championship in 2013, a regional title in 2015 and a national championship in 2016, earning Driver of the Year that same season. Competing in both the East and West Championships of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in 2018 and 2019, Deegan earned a combined three wins and 10 additional top-five finishes. Deegan also became the first female driver to win a race in the series. In 2019 and 2020, Deegan claimed three podium finishes in the ARCA Menards Series.

Deegan’s progression continued as she made her NASCAR Truck Series debut in 2020. Across three full seasons, she earned five top-10 finishes. In 2024, she stepped up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, competing in a partial season and achieving a best finish of 12th.