Hailie Deegan gets real about the brutal physical demands of Indy NXT road course racing
HMD Motorsports driver Hailie Deegan recently spoke about racing on a road course at Indy NXT. The 23-year-old opened up about how the road courses can be more physically challenging as compared to the ovals.
On June 14, Deegan took part in the qualifying session held at the World Wide Technology Raceway. She also spoke about asking for advice from the 2024 Indy NXT champion, Jamie Chadwick when it comes to racing at the road courses. She said, (via @INDYNXT on X)
"Yeah the ovals, I think from my perspective, I'm not as strong as a lot of people out here. I think I'm pretty small person generally. So definitely the physical side of things have been so hard for me on the road courses, so I've changed few things with the car." (0:30 onwards)
"I've actually been able to talk to Jamie Chadwick and pick her brain a little bit of things they did. And it definitely helped me along on the road courses. And I just feel like physically being able to hang on for long periods of time, so I feel like the ovals are way less physical than the road course. So I feel a little bit more comfortable. A little bit more in the game and especially being at a place like gateway where I've raced before." Deegan added.
During the qualifying session, Hailie Deegan briefly placed third on the leaderboard. She eventually ended up placing in 10th place in the qualifying.
During the maiden race of the season, the former NASCAR driver qualified in 21st place and was able to make up places due to the lap one incident, which took out a few of her opponents. She finished the race in 14th place. At Barber Motorsports Park, she qualified in 19th place and finished in 17th.
The former NASCAR driver made the switch from stock racing to open wheel racing when she failed to secure the sponsorship she needed to progress further in the series. She previously drove in the Xfinity series with AM Racing, where she finished in 23rd place. Her best finish came at the Ag-Pro 3000 Series, where she placed 12th.
Hailie Deegan opens up about turning to Jamie Chadwick for an 'Honest Answer'
Hailie Deegan spoke about reaching out to former Indy NXT champion Jamie Chadwick. Chadwick drove for the Andretti Global team in 2024. Notably, she became the first female driver in the series since 2010 to win an IndyCar developmental series.
During a press conference held pre-race at the Sonsio Grand Prix, Hailie Deegan opened up about approaching the 2024 Indy NXT champion for some advice. The American driver revealed she reached out to Chadwick after she struggled at the Barber Motorsports Park. She said, (Via Bob Pockrass on X)
"My first ever Indy NXT race that I came to last year, I got to meet her and everything so she was very friendly which is awesome so I definitely felt comfortable reaching out to her and knew that she's going to give me an honest answer something that I've been really working towards," Deegan said.
Hailie Deegan is currently sitting in 18th place in the drivers' championship with 68 points to her name.