Note: The Penske Entertainment editorial staff is looking back at the five biggest moments of 2024 in INDY NXT by Firestone in this year-end series, with one installment appearing on the site per day in countdown fashion from Dec. 27-31.
The 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone driver lineup gained a large splash Oct. 14 with the signing of Hailie Deegan. After making her way through the ranks of dirt racing and stock car racing, Deegan will shift her focus to open-wheel racing driving the No. 38 entry with HMD Motorsports for the full 14-race calendar of INDY NXT, the INDYCAR development series.
Southern California native Deegan comes to the series with a diverse racing resume and large following. 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.
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.
Her first season is going to be more about learning than results. Especially since she’s joining the INDYCAR development series as it looks poised to have one of its deepest fields in recent memory, with six of the top nine finishers in last year’s standings returning. FIA F2 race winner and FIA F3 champion Dennis Hauger also is racing next season in the series, along with 2024 Indy Pro 2000 champion Lochie Hughes.
Deegan has never been behind the wheel of an open-cockpit race car in a race. She’s never wrestled a car without power steering or had so many gadgets for adjustments on a steering wheel.
All new factors to learn.
A multiyear contract gives Southern California native Deegan, 23, the benefit of taking her time in learning the nuances of an open-wheel car, though.
Deegan will be joined in the HMD lineup by another full-time female driver in the series, Sophia Floersch. The German is a veteran of Formula 3 open-wheel and sports car competition in Europe, becoming the first female to score points in the FIA F3 series.