When Hailie Deegan disclosed the “biggest thing” she hates

In a 2019 interview with Jeff Gluck, Hailie Deegan opened up about her pet peeve. She shared how she's good at keeping secrets, but didn't like it when people withheld information from her.

Deegan was competing in the K&N West Series at the time. It was her second full-time season in the series, while she also made part-time starts in K&N East. She began the East season-opener on pole, but had to retire due to mechanical issues.

However, Deegan grabbed her second K&N Pro win that year and announced a six-race venture with Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series. She had her first top-5 finish in the series at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

When Gluck asked her if she'd want to know about a secret, illegal car part that made her fast, Deegan replied:

"Yeah, that’s one thing about me. I like to know everything. I’m good at keeping secrets, but I like to know everything. I hate when people withhold information from me. It’s like the biggest thing I hate....I hate when people keep secrets from me, like, “Oh?” I won’t say anything — just tell me though!"

Hailie Deegan later made her Truck Series debut in 2020 and backed it up with a full-time bid in 2021, scoring multiple top-10s. She was also voted the series' Most Popular Driver.

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Hailie Deegan's Indy NXT reportedly comes to an end

Hailie Deegan finished her maiden Indy NXT season one spot removed from the tail end of the full-time drivers. Her 14th-place ranking marks an underwhelming season in open-wheel racing.

Consequently, Deegan might be looking at her only year in IndyCar's junior series. Reporter Marshall Pruett described Deegan's season as 'one and done'.

"You can teach a road racer to be an excellent oval racer, but it’s damn near impossible to take an oval racer and train them to be an excellent road racer," he wrote in RACER Mailbag.

"She tried to take her off-road and oval knowledge and add road racing to it, and there’s no doubt she could improve year by year if she wanted to make it her future, but it was never going to happen all at once in a single season of NXT. I don’t know where she’ll go next, but it isn’t NXT," he added.

Hailie Deegan entered the sport after her Xfinity Series drive with AM Racing fell apart in 2024. She was left without a seat midway through the season and had to pivot to IndyCar.

However, a lack of top-10 finishes and consistent rear-end qualifications kept Deegan as a backmarker. She scored 202 points across 14 starts and didn't lead a single lap throughout the season. Moreover, she's tied with final-place finisher Tommy Smith.