During an Indy NXT test at Iowa Speedway on Monday, June 9, Hailie Deegan narrowly avoided a major crash while pushing her limits on the oval track. The 23-year-old driver described the close call as one where her “life flashed before my eyes,” highlighting the challenges she faced adapting to Indy NXT’s open-wheel cars amid difficult track conditions.
Challenging Conditions Lead to Near-Crash on Oval
The one-day test included 21 drivers who collectively completed 3,209 laps, with the day split into morning and afternoon sessions. Gusty winds and a cooler track in the morning made handling tricky, forcing drivers to be cautious when accelerating. Deegan, mostly experienced in NASCAR stock cars on ovals, had limited practice with Indy NXT’s open-wheel machinery, having only previously tested once on an oval in Nashville.
During a run in the morning session, Deegan’s No. 38 car lost grip entering Turn 1, causing a momentary loss of control. In a VLOG posted to her YouTube channel, she described the incident vividly:
“I almost died. The biggest moment of my entire life. My life flashed before my eyes,” she told her HMD Motorsport crew. “After I saved it, I still didn’t think I saved it. It still had so much speed carrying into the wall, and it’s so dirty up there. It was the biggest moment of my entire life. Dude, when it snapped, it snapped big.”
Before heading back onto the track for the afternoon session, Deegan reflected further on the experience:
“We were good up until I had a big moment where it (the car) stepped out on me. It felt like a massive moment. It stepped out on me in the entry into (Turn) 1, and then I saved it, and it stepped out again, and I corrected. Two of our other teammates already junked it with how windy it was.”
Deegan’s Struggle to Adapt Reflected in Testing Times
Deegan’s performance at the Iowa test showed she is still adjusting to the distinct demands of Indy NXT’s open-wheel cars compared to her extensive NASCAR background, which includes racing in the Truck Series, the Xfinity Series, and ARCA Menards. At Iowa, she focused on learning rather than speed, finishing significantly off the pace of the fastest driver, Josh Pierson.
Deegan posted a best lap time of 19.4566 seconds, averaging 165.414 mph over 172 laps across both sessions. Pierson dominated the day with a lap time of 18.275 seconds at 176.109 mph. Deegan was the second-slowest on track, ahead only of her teammate Tommy Smith, who recorded a time of 19.691 seconds averaging 163.44 mph. Smith might have been one of the teammates she referenced who wrecked their cars in the windy morning conditions.
Testing Prepares Deegan for Upcoming Iowa Oval Race
This test on the 0.894-mile oval was critical preparation for Deegan ahead of the next Indy NXT event at the 1.25-mile WWT Raceway oval scheduled for Sunday. Drivers will qualify on Saturday at 4:30 pm ET, with the race following at the same time the next day. The experience and data gained during this challenging testing day will be invaluable as Deegan works to improve her pace and confidence on oval tracks in the open-wheel series.