Hailie Deegan delivered her career-best qualifying result for the second time this season, taking tenth position during Indy NXT qualifying at the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville. The achievement highlights Deegan’s continued adaptation, as she joined HMD Motorsports for her first season in open-wheel racing after shifting from NASCAR, making
“Hailie Deegan Indy NXT qualifying Nashville”
a focal narrative of this year’s season finale.
Deegan, who drives the No. 38 for HMD Motorsports, averaged a speed of 181.962 mph over her two-lap qualifying run on Saturday, August 30, securing the second-highest position among her team’s drivers that day. Despite her efforts, she remains in search of stronger race-day performances, as overtaking and maintaining positions during races have posed significant challenges throughout her rookie year.
Performance at Nashville Follows a Challenging Rookie Season
Hailie Deegan’s 2025 campaign in Indy NXT has presented steep learning curves, particularly as she comes from a background in stock car and dirt racing. Her respectable result in Nashville matches the tenth-place qualifying effort she recorded earlier this season at World Wide Technology Raceway. The Music City Grand Prix, which marks the last race weekend of the Indy NXT season, comes amid organizational changes for her team.
On the same weekend, HMD Motorsports announced it will reduce its commitment to four full-time cars in 2026, while providing technical support to Cusick Motorsports for two additional entries. This downsizing has intensified the pressure on Deegan, whose rookie season results have not consistently placed her amongst the leaders, raising questions about her future with the team.
Deegan’s teammate Caio Collet, currently runner-up in the season standings, outpaced her in qualifying with a two-lap average of 184.112 mph, while Andretti Global’s Salvador de Alba claimed pole with 184.471 mph. Despite the difficulty, Deegan’s incremental progress—especially on oval tracks—distinguishes her adaptation to open-wheel machinery, even if road and street courses remain problematic.
Transition from NASCAR and Adapting to Open-Wheel Challenges
HMD Motorsports recruited Deegan at the end of 2024, promptly after her departure from AM Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series squad at mid-season. With no experience in open-wheel vehicles, and coming off a sudden loss of her previous ride, Deegan was thrust into a steep learning curve. The challenge has been not only technical but also physical, as the demands of driving Indy NXT cars are notably different from NASCAR’s stock car competitions.
Deegan herself has remarked on the surprising physical intensity of Indy NXT racing compared to her experience in stock cars:
one of the most unphysical forms of racing.
—Hailie Deegan, Driver
Describing her adjustment to the sport’s demands, she recounted the toll it has taken:
“Obviously, the road courses are very hard. Barber (the track that hosts the Grand Prix of Alabama, where Deegan had a P17 result) was bad for me. Like physically, okay, I’m not that far off when we get to practice or qualifying. Whatever it is, I’ll be okay, not bad. But like the longevity for me, I’m dying,” she said.
—Hailie Deegan, Driver
Like after practice, for the second practice, I’m back at the Airbnb with my hands in an iced bowl of water, just trying to get some sort of strength back because I was just like dying in pain and so… from just being sore. So I think tracks like those were hard,” she added.
—Hailie Deegan, Driver
Participating in the
“Off Track with Hinch and Rossi”
podcast, hosted by IndyCar’s Alexander Rossi, Deegan detailed the physicality of the cars, particularly the lack of power steering, and the difficulty she has faced in endurance during long stints on road courses such as Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
Looking Forward Amid Pressure and Uncertainty
As the Indy NXT season draws to a close in Nashville, Hailie Deegan’s P10 qualifying at the Music City Grand Prix offers a positive footnote to an otherwise strenuous rookie campaign. While doubts about her 2026 seat with HMD Motorsports persist due to the team’s reduction in entries and her uneven results, her progress—especially on ovals—shows she is still developing as an open-wheel driver.
With her season wrapping up at the top tier of IndyCar’s developmental ladder, Deegan’s Nashville result will factor into decisions about her future. The story of her first season in Indy NXT reflects not only her perseverance but also the challenging realities that come with changing disciplines and competing at a high level against experienced drivers like Caio Collet and Salvador de Alba. The coming months will likely determine whether Hailie Deegan secures another shot in the series or faces yet another career crossroads.
