Hailie Deegan has been turning heads for years. With nearly five million followers across social media, she’s one of NASCAR’s most marketable drivers, a trailblazer for women in motorsport, and a beacon of hope for fans eager to see a competitive female driver climb the ranks. But after three full seasons in NASCAR’s Truck Series, managing just five top-10 finishes in 69 races, reality has hit hard. Now, Deegan is stepping away from stock cars and into open-wheel racing, and it’s looking more and more like her NASCAR days might be over for good.

Hailie Deegan: The rise, the struggle, and the pivot

Deegan’s NASCAR career started with sky-high expectations. A three-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series and a standout in off-road racing, she seemed destined for greatness. Her jump to the Truck Series in 2021 was a major milestone, but the results didn’t follow. Despite her popularity and massive fanbase, Deegan struggled to find her footing on the track. Three seasons, five top-10s—that wasn’t the script anyone had in mind.

But the challenge wasn’t just performance. NASCAR is a sport where money talks and Deegan found herself in a tough spot. “It’s hard to say to a sponsor, ‘You spend a couple hundred grand for this race, you’re going to get your value,’” she admitted. “You can’t promise that to people. So it’s very tough from that side.”

She also added that she isn’t alone with financial struggles, as this is the pattern across NASCAR. Hailee Deegan added, in conversation with the Associated Press, “Same thing for everybody. Not many opportunities come unless you got deep pockets. I think a lot of people fail to realize that on the NASCAR side of things, it is such a crazy number. So if $6 million to run for a quality Xfinity team just came out of nowhere, fell off a tree, for sure I’d do it.” This is the sad reality of the sport, especially with the importance of sponsors even for a part-time ride and for a full-time one, the cost of securing a charter is another financial burden.

Her attempt to move up to the Xfinity Series in 2023 with AM Racing ended after 17 races and a best finish of 12th. Without the right funding to secure a competitive ride, her NASCAR future started looking bleak. “I would have loved to run Xfinity full-time, but in a good car,” she said. “The reality of that is, it takes a lot of sponsorship to do that.” 

A new chapter in open-wheel racing

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With NASCAR doors closing, Hailie Deegan is making a bold move—jumping into Indy NXT, IndyCar’s top development series, with HMD Motorsports. It’s a daring switch for someone with no prior IndyCar experience, but she’s all in.

“I feel like I’ve been learning so much and having a blast doing it,” she said. “It’s just trying something new. It’s been a big change, but a fun one.”

Of course, there’s a learning curve. Deegan attended her first IndyCar race just last summer, and she’s still getting up to speed with the series. But she’s optimistic, especially about racing on ovals. “As long as we constantly progress on the road courses and then we get to the ovals, that’s where I think my strong suit is going to be,” she said.

She’s in good hands. HMD Motorsports has a strong track record of developing IndyCar talent, including David Malukas and Linus Lundqvist. For Deegan, this is a fresh start—a chance to prove herself in a different arena. “I know I’m not going to go out there and win my first race,” she said. “I’m realistic, I haven’t really set any finishing goals because I want to see how I do at the first race.”

Her shift to Indy NXT raises the obvious question: Is her NASCAR career over? While she hasn’t shut the door completely, her comments suggest a return isn’t likely unless a big-money sponsor appears. “If a couple million dollars falls in my lap, awesome,” she said. “But the reality of things is in this economy right now, sponsorship and marketing budgets have been cut. It makes it a lot tougher.”

For now, Deegan is focused on this new challenge. Whether she’ll find the success that eluded her in NASCAR remains to be seen, but one thing’s certain—she’s not done racing. She’s just taking a different road.