Hailie Deegan reveals 'mind tricks' required to ace Indy NXT race at WWT Raceway

Hailie Deegan switched to open-wheel racing after she departed from the Xfinity grid and would race at the World Wide Technology Raceway this weekend. With it being her first experience racing around the 1.25-mile track in open-wheel machinery, the 23-year-old shared how she has to trick her mind into not using her normal racing tendencies due to the increased abilities of the Indy NXT cars.

The female driver had been a revered name in the motorsport world owing to her success in the stock car racing sphere. She had made the jump up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series last year with AM Racing, but she parted ways with the team mid-way through the season.

Deegan then used this time to examine various other racing spheres and chose to move to Indy NXT for the 2025 season. This meant that she was going to throw herself at the best open-wheel junior racing drivers, which showcased her determination but presented a tough situation where she could be dominated by the grid.

While this remained the situation for the early half of the season, the 23-year-old has seemingly found her groove with her best qualifying result of the season around the WWT Raceway. The HMD Motorsports driver qualified 10th for the race on Sunday.

Hailie Deegan then revealed how the open-wheel racing formula has some nimble and high downforce cars that counter her previous racing tactics (via Frontstretch Open Wheel):

"It doesn't feel like you can go that fast into turn one, like usually in any other vehicle you drive; you're usually lifting at like the 250 mark like where the two board is just a little bit before it, and in this you're driving past the one and when you stop seeing the one that's when you lift. So it's wild and you're not allowed to lift, at least that's the rule for me is do not lift before you turn in then lift, which is like a big no-no in any other type of racing." (1:21 onwards)

"So doing that, like you have to trick your mind to know that it's okay, and just like almost psych yourself out that like hey this is normal, like this is exactly what I'm supposed to do," she added.

Deegan is yet to score a top-10 finish in her freshman year in Indy NXT.

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How has Hailie Deegan squared up to the challenge of racing open-wheel racecars?

Hailie Deegan at the INDYNXT Indianapolis Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Hailie Deegan has a huge experience gap in comparison to her rivals on the grid. Owing to this, she has been a fair way off the front of the field and has been seconds off the pole time consistently.

At the season opener in St. Petersburg, she started last and finished 14th. Though this result remained her best showing in race trim, the delta between her and the top drivers started reducing.

Moreover, her qualifying prowess at the WWT Raceway is the result of her continued determination. This would supposedly help her achieve a strong result under her belt at one of the toughest tracks to master on the schedule.