Hailie Deegan's dad gets real about double-edged sword of her racing career and impact on family

Hailie Deegan hails from a racing family, which was sparked up by his dad, Brian Deegan. While the 51-year-old's passion for motorsports transferred into his children, it also took a toll on the family's personal time, as Deegan Sr. went candid on racing's impact on his bloodline.

Brian is a renowned name in the motorsports world, as he is the most decorated X Games player. His desire for adrenaline ultimately extended to his children, who are all involved in the racing world in different capacities.

However, the biggest name among his children, Hailie Deegan, chose a slightly different path into racing as she tried her hand at the four-wheelers. Her initial ambition was to make it into the stock car racing world, which meant moving up the NASCAR ladder.

This required some sacrifices on her end, including moving away from her parents and living in Charlotte for a while. This posed a conundrum to the 51-year-old, who revealed how helping his children get into racing meant that he had to drive them away from him for a fair chunk of the year, as he said (via YouTube/Cameron Hanes):

"But the point is with the kids now, for example, Hailie, I was like, okay, she was into got into karting, into car racing, chasing. I'm like, okay, girl racing. We're going NASCAR. Top of the thing, let's go. And so we figure it out. We chase the dream, get her to NASCAR." (26:50 onwards)

"And then next thing you know, she's like, "Okay, I got to live in Charlotte and go race NASCAR." And I'm like, "Whoa, okay, that's crazy. Our daughter is just gone now." Like, and I'm like, "Would it have been better of her just to have a normal life and work the 9 to 5, and be able to see her every day and be a part of our family and have the normal family life?....What we're chasing pulls us apart""

On the other hand, the junior Deegan's NASCAR ambitions were crumpled after she departed from the Xfinity Series last year, and she now races in Indy NXT for HMD Motorsports.

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How is Hailie Deegan's rookie Indy NXT campaign panning out?

Hailie Deegan at the INDYNXT by Firestone Race at the World Wide Technology Raceway - Source: Getty

Transitioning from closed to open cockpits is not an easy task, and Hailie Deegan had to contend with it. Her time in open-wheel racecars had been limited before her arrival on the Indy NXT grid, which already made her start the season on the back foot.

Despite this, in her rookie year, she qualified in the top 10 twice. While this same strength has not been carried across to her race results, Deegan has improved in her race pace over the course of the season.

Moreover, the 24-year-old remains the sole woman driver on the Indy NXT grid, bringing much-needed female representation to the open-wheel racing segment.