Hailie Deegan’s entry into Indy NXT was a move that surprised many, as the switch is usually the other way around. It was meant to be a new beginning, a bold leap from the chaos of NASCAR into the precision of open-wheel racing. Instead, it is unraveling as a high-profile experiment gone wrong. Once hailed as a rising star in motorsports, Deegan is now the target of growing fan frustration after a string of lackluster results in her rookie season. Despite showing a glimpse of improvement with an 11th-place finish at Laguna Seca, she remains mired at the bottom of the standings. With each race, the skepticism gets louder: was this a career revival or a costly misstep?

Through 11 rounds of the 2025 Indy NXT by Firestone season, Deegan ranks dead last among full-time competitors, having failed to secure a single top-ten finish. Her points total trails even part-time drivers, and her average pace lags nearly a second behind the midfield. Though no official statement has been made by HMD Motorsports or Andretti Cape regarding her seat, the public reaction has taken on a life of its own. Social media commentary and forum threads are filled with fans urging her to step away from open-wheel competition, citing her persistent struggles against a highly competitive field.

Deegan’s racing resume is diverse, starting with early success in off-road circuits like the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. She later made headlines in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West between 2018 and 2019, becoming the first female driver in series history to score a victory, earning three wins and 10 top-five finishes in total. After moving up to the ARCA Menards Series and later the NASCAR Truck Series in 2020, she logged five top-10 finishes but no wins across multiple seasons. In 2024, she stepped into the NASCAR Xfinity Series for a limited campaign before making the unexpected transition to Indy NXT in 2025, her first foray into open-wheel racing.

While Deegan’s adaptability across racing disciplines is commendable, the results tell a consistent story: early promise on dirt and short tracks hasn’t translated into higher-level series. Her current struggles in Indy NXT only echo the frustrations fans saw in the Truck and Xfinity Series. With drivers like Nolan Allaer and Kiko Porto, both with similar or fewer starts, outperforming her in points and race pace, the contrast is hard to ignore. As the season wears on, the conversation has shifted from patience to doubt, with fans questioning if Deegan’s future lies somewhere other than open-wheel racing.

Deegan’s open-wheel stint draws heavy fire from disappointed supporters

Frustration over Hailie Deegan’s Indy NXT performance has been simmering for months, but it recently erupted in a widely discussed Reddit thread where fans shared raw and unfiltered reactions to her continued struggles. The consensus? Patience is wearing thin.

Deegan’s full-time presence in Indy NXT has drawn criticism as she continues to underperform, currently dead last among drivers who’ve run the full schedule. “She’s last in points of anyone that’s competed in all the races. I’d say that’s not very successful.” That single brutal stat says it all. Deegan, despite having access to full race weekends, testing, and data, has been consistently outrun by part-timers and newcomers alike. While rookies like Myles Rowe or Kiko Porto have begun finding footing in the series, Deegan’s lack of competitive finishes fuels the belief that she’s simply out of her depth. The concern isn’t just that she’s struggling, but that she’s plateaued.

Some fans tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, switching to open-wheel racing takes guts—but patience is wearing thin. “I applaud her willingness to try a discipline she’s completely unfamiliar with…but yeah it’s going about as well as you could expect. Especially when you have prominent F2 veterans in the field.” While she’s not directly racing against Formula 2 veterans like Victor Martins or Roman Staněk, their presence in the broader open-wheel ladder highlights the steep level of competition Deegan entered. In Indy NXT, she’s lining up against drivers trained on technical road circuits since karting, many with European pedigrees or junior formula titles. Her average qualifying position hovers around the rear of the field, and lap deltas show she’s often nearly a full second off race pace. Even when mechanical issues or crashes aren’t a factor, the raw pace simply isn’t there, suggesting it’s not just unfamiliarity, but incompatibility.

Deegan’s not just struggling; she’s being outclassed by drivers with less time in the car, which rubs fans the wrong way. “There are two drivers with less starts than H.D. that are higher in the points standings if that gives a clue.” Take Louis Foster and Bryce Aron, both newer to the series in comparison, and both showing superior adaptability. The optics get worse when you consider their budgets and experience are comparable, if not less. For fans, it begs a harsh question: if these guys can crack top-10s in year one, why is Deegan stuck in 15th–18th place with zero signs of progression?

Frustration peaked when fans began comparing her to NASCAR’s most infamous ride-holder. “Having expectations for Deegan is like having expectations for Cody Ware. It’s a business decision.” It’s a pointed critique of how motorsports often reward marketability over merit. Cody Ware had a long stint in Cup despite never showing race-winning potential, and fans see the same with Deegan: big sponsors, big following, but no results. The longer her poor performances continue, the more fans view her presence as a liability to driver development, not an asset.

Yet, not all fans want her gone entirely; they just want her placed where she can thrive again. “Hailie Deegan needs to go dirt racing… The open wheel experiment hasn’t worked.” Her ARCA wins on dirt, her short-course off-road past, even her runs in SRX, those were flashes of the aggressive, confident driver people once rallied behind. Some fans are even suggesting she shift toward endurance racing or join female-focused teams like Iron Dames in Europe. But unless a pivot comes soon, fans worry she’ll get chewed up by a system that rewards performance, not personality.

Despite her marketability and willingness to challenge herself in a new discipline, Hailie Deegan’s foray into Indy NXT is rapidly losing fan support. For many, her struggles echo the trajectory of Natalie Decker, another highly promoted driver who generated headlines and sponsorships but often failed to deliver results on track. Just as Decker’s tenure in NASCAR was defined by constant scrutiny over performance gaps, Deegan now faces the same chorus of criticism, with fans questioning whether hype and branding have outpaced actual racecraft. Whether she returns to dirt, pivots to sports cars, or doubles down in open-wheel, the next move could define her career far more than any past victory.