Hailie Deegan, the first female to win the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, came into the spotlight when the Californian signed up to race for AM Racing in the Xfinity Series in 2024. Unfortunately, despite her popularity, consistent results became difficult to achieve at the national level, and she then decided to get her hands on open-wheel racing.

In 2025, Deegan signed up to race in the Indy NXT series, where he had an average outing. Fast forward to 2026, Deegan does not have a confirmed full-time race seat secured yet, in any of the major series, whether NASCAR or Indy NXT. But just when things were slowing down, the former NASCAR driver has dropped an exciting teaser, giving a sneak peek into her upcoming venture.

Hailie Deegan setting up for her next adventure

Following an average outing in her first season in the Indy NXT, it’s not clear whether Hailie Deegan is set to enter the competition for the second time.

While there is a possibility she could continue with HMD Motorsports, there is another vertical she could be exploring. Unraveling her quest, she opened up in a recent YouTube video from her channel, and this is what she said:

“I’m excited because I’m going to be able to make my race announcement next week. I kind of have everything lined up. Going to film some stuff, get some footage put together. But, I’m not going to tell you guys what it is just yet, but I am announcing it.”

Following this, the 24-year-old driver from California touched upon her new contract coming up ahead this season. While she did confirm it’s going to be full-time, she also kept her fans in the dark for now.

“So, I know you guys have been waiting for that and should be super excited because I’m super excited about it. Just signed my contract and everything, and will be racing full-time this year. So, full-time what? Not going to tell you, but I’ll let you know soon.”

So while there is still uncertainty about her plans, the 24-year-old clearly sounds like she’s far from stepping away. The fact that she’s keeping things wrapped could also mean a shift to a completely different vertical.

Deegan started her career young at the age of 8, taking part in go-karts and off-road events. From there, she went to asphalt, but she came into the spotlight when she entered NASCAR, from K&N Pro Series West, ARCA Menards, and then Truck Series. There, she participated in 69 races over four years, winning five top-5s.

From there, she moved to open-wheel racing, and it was clear that she would not find it a walk in the park.

For any driver, transitioning from stock car racing to open-wheel racing is regarded as a harsh leap. Despite this, the young driver from California showed signs of courage and took the shift head-on. However, there were times she was indeed terrified.

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When Hailie Deegan missed a race following ‘death threat’

Racing drivers missing a race is not very uncommon. The issue may be illness, injury, or disqualification. However, for Hailie Deegan, things were a lot more complicated. It was as dangerous as a death threat.

In early April in 2022, the Truck Series driver saw a post by one of her fans, who lived nearby. In the post, the fan threatened to ‘kill’ her boyfriend, Chase Cabre, if she did not skip the Truck Series race, the Freedom 500 at Bradenton, Florida.

“His official words were, not that he’s going to kill Chase, but that he’s going to come … and be the last thing Chase ever sees,” Deegan said about the threat.

“It kind of scared me a little bit, because I’d dealt with stalker situations before. I went home that day, looked up the guy’s name on the note, and figured out that he was getting catfished by a fake Hailie Deegan account.”

As a result, the 24-year-old driver skipped the event, prioritizing safety over racing. The couple stated that they contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation, NASCAR security, and filed police reports.