Hailie Deegan's dad reveals she turned down his F1 Academy wish to race in IndyCar's junior series

Hailie Deegan's dad, Brian Deegan, has revealed that he wanted her to join the F1 Academy series in 2025. However, the 23-year-old had other plans as she jumped from racing in NASCAR to Indy NXT, which is the top rung of IndyCar's junior ladder.

Brian Deegan has formed a racing dynasty in his family. He is a legend in the X Games circuit, having won 16 medals during his career. His older son, Haiden, is following in his footsteps by pursuing a motocross career. Hailie Deegan, on the other hand, found a home in racing four-wheelers.

She began her NASCAR career in 2018 with the K&N Pro Series. Over her six-year stock car career, she raced in the ARCA Menards, NASCAR Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. However, she had to depart AM Racing midway through the 2024 season, after which she pursued a switch to open-wheel racing.

Her racing icon dad recently revealed that he'd suggested that she join the F1 Academy, the female-only series launched by the Formula One Group in 2023. In a recent interview with RACER, Brian spoke about his daughter's path in racing, saying:

"I’ve asked her if she really wants to continue racing or does she want to move on. She wants to race. Like I said, it’s a tough road, and it would be cool to see her get more support as a young female racer."

Elaborating on the F1 Academy talks, he added:

"I really wanted her to go do the F1 Academy deal that they were doing with the girls there. I thought that was a cool opportunity. Maybe she will. I don’t know. She felt like she needed to get some more open-wheel seat time before she did that, which I agree. She just started in it. I think give her a season there and kind of see where she is at."

F1 Academy has been on the rise since its inception. The sheer talent of the female drivers in the series, coupled with it being associated with F1, has contributed to its rise. Marta Garcia won the title in 2023, followed by Abbi Pulling winning in 2024. Similar to Drive to Survive, Netflix also produced an F1 Academy docuseries, which launched globally on May 28.

Hailie Deegan had her first Indy NXT test with HMD Motorsports in October 2024 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The team signed her for the 2025 season, making her the only other female driver alongside teammate Sophia Floersch. However, Floersch parted ways with the team after the first race of the season, leaving Deegan as the only female racer on the grid for the rest of 2025.

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Brian Deegan gets nervous at the thought of daughter Hailie Deegan going 190 mph in Indy NXT cars

Hailie Deegan drives at the INDY NXT by Firestone Race at WWTR - Source: Getty

Hailie Deegan had no experience in open-wheel cars before the end of 2024 when she tested for HMD Motorsports and also participated in two races in the Formula Regional Americas Championship. Moreover, the average speed of Indy NXT cars is higher than that of the stock cars she raced in the past.

As a father, Brian Deegan feels uneasy when her daughter goes at speeds past 190 mph at nearly every race weekend.

"It is nerve-racking. It’s scary. She’s racing an open-wheel race car at 190 miles per hour. Whether you’re in the front or the back, you’re still in a race car going that fast. It’s still dangerous! That part kind of makes me nervous, but I think as long as she enjoys it, I think it’s one shot at it, you know? She’s still real good with it," the 51-year-old said via RACER.

Hailie Deegan is having a tough time in her rookie season in Indy NXT. However, her pace has been steadily progressing, albeit at a slower pace than ideal. She has been qualifying poorly for each race, usually starting at the back of the grid and finishing there.

However, the best feature of her racing has been the ability to keep it clean at all tracks. The only crash she has been a part of in seven races so far was a 10-car pile-up at the Detroit GP, which wasn't her fault.

Edited by Luke Koshi