Hailie Deegan announced on Monday that she will switch from NASCAR to IndyCar and will compete in the Indy NXT Series next year with HMD Motorsports.
Deegan will drive the No. 38 car for the entire 14-race season, which is a step below IndyCar. She will join a five-driver team at HMD that includes Caio Collet, Josh Pierson, Tommy Smith, and Bryce Aron.
“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 has not raced in open-wheel cars before. The 23-year-old has spent the last four years in NASCAR, competing in the Truck Series — where she started at age 18 — and in the Xfinity Series. Originally from Temecula, California, she has not won at NASCAR’s national level.
Deegan and HMD Motorsports will have a test session this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She will be working with Nathan Toney, a former HMD Motorsports engineer and owner of Toney Driver Development.
The team mentioned that Deegan has already completed test sessions at different tracks. She will get her first experience in open-wheel racing later this month during the last race of the Formula Regional Americas season at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
“Hailie, and especially the Deegan name, are huge in motorsports, and we welcome them to the HMD Motorsports family,” said team president Mike Maurini. “Hailie has already been out to the shop and is taking the move to open-wheel racing seriously.”
