Instead, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano will take the wheel of the No. 15 AMR Ford Mustang.
In a statement, the team said they hope to improve the team’s competitiveness with Logano’s input. Deegan has competed in all 17 races so far this year with AMR, but has never finished higher than 12th. He also has eight finishes outside the top 30, which is a sudden drop in performance after 2023.
Last year, Brett Moffitt drove the No. 15 AMR Ford and earned one top-five and nine top-tens, finishing the year 15th in the points standings. Deegan currently sits 27th, dead last among full-time drivers.
Deegan, 22, is a rookie in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after spending three full seasons in the Truck Series. There, she earned five top-10 finishes in 69 starts and was as high as 17th in the points standings.
Hailie Deegan, AM Racing, Ford Mustang with airbox
Photograph by: Gavin Baker / NKP / Motorsport Images
“The level of competition in the Xfinity Series is more competitive than ever,” AM Racing team president Wade Moore said in a press release. “Our goal at AM Racing is to build a competitive race team through our technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing and to provide any of our drivers with the best equipment and opportunity to be successful on the track every weekend.
“That said, we haven’t had the on-track success we had hoped for in the first half of the season. When the opportunity arose to have Joey in the car in Chicago, we felt we should take advantage of the knowledge and feedback a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion could bring to the growth of our teams.”
Moore added: “We intend to take the feedback and data from the Chicago race weekend and apply it to building better race cars each week so AM Racing can have a stronger second half of the season.”
Logano hasn’t run a NASCAR Xfinity race since 2019, but he has 30 career wins as an NXS driver. In the inaugural Cup race at the Chicago Street Course in 2023, he started ninth and finished eighth.
Joey Logano, Team Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang on victory lane
Photo credit: Rusty Jones / NKP / Motorsport Images
“Racing in the rain on the Chicago street course last year was a challenge in itself,” Logano said. “Any additional time behind the wheel is always a positive on unique tracks like this. Driving NASCAR Xfinity Series cars is a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the No. 15 AM Racing Ford Mustang with high hopes of taking it to the front.”
Logano is also the latest Cup Series winner, earning his first points-scoring victory of the 2024 season at Nashville Superspeedway. He also won the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway earlier this year.
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