Hailie Deegan is tempering her expectations during her maiden INDY NXT by Firestone season.

After making her way through the dirt racing and stock car ranks, Deegan shifted her focus this season to open-wheel, driving the No. 38 entry with HMD Motorsports for the full 14-race calendar of the INDYCAR development series.

She is approaching this first season as a foundation year, focusing on learning instead of results.

A secret weapon to help expedite her learning curve is fiancé Chase Cabre.

Cabre is a former NASCAR K&N Pro Series driver and an elite sim racer. Cabre finished second in points during the 2019 ARCA Menards Series East championship but transitioned to life after racing from 2021 onward.

“I always tell him you are one of the most unrecognized talents that I’ve ever seen,” Deegan said of Cabre. “He is so talented in everything he does. He deserved a lot in his career. He helps me a lot.”

Sim racing is a key part of driver development now, especially in open-wheel racing, where tracks and car dynamics are ultra-specific. Having someone close who gets both the real-world and virtual angles of racing gives Deegan an edge in shortening that learning curve.

Cabre knows what Deegan likes in a race car and can use setups on the simulator to help.

“He’s really good on simulators,” Deegan said. “He’s been doing it since he was 14. When I’m at home, we both have simulators at the house so we're able to literally drive right next to each other. He pulls all the telemetry and the data, and I can overlay it with his.

“He was in the (sim racing) pro league during COVID, so he was doing all that. I’m not a sim person. I’m learning to be and want to be. It takes me time, so having something to reference of is really nice.”

The ability to use that information and have a realistic mindset leading into race weekends could boost Deegan as she acclimates to the different world of open-wheel racing.

“I’m a very realistic person,” she said. “I haven’t really set any finishing goals. I have no clue how everyone races. I have no clue how many wrecks there are going to be. I’m looking to constantly progress. I’m looking to do better, be closer, be quicker than I was previously. We’ve been doing that every single test.

“The two-day tests really help a lot because you get to learn the track and everything about it the first day, and then you get to really dissect the footage and really look at the data to see where you’re needing to improve more, and it gives you more time and you’re not rushing at all.”

Deegan followed that blueprint on the 1.8-mile St. Petersburg street circuit during the season opener early last month. She chopped three seconds off her practice time from Friday to Saturday, and on race day she completed all 44 laps in the race March 2 and finished 14th among 21 starters.

“It’s been so much fun,” she said. “I’ve been really enjoying it. I feel like I’ve been learning so much. I’ve been having a blast doing it. Trying something new it’s been a big change but a fun one.”

INDY NXT by Firestone returns to action May 2-4 at Barber Motorsports Park. The 35-lap race airs at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday, May 4 on FS1 and the INDYCAR Radio Network.