Yahoo Autos Logano replacing Deegan at AM Racing for Chicago Xfinity race
Joey Logano will replace Hailie Deegan in AM Racing’s No.15 Ford Mustang in this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Chicago.
Logano will pilot the No. 15 Klutch Vodka Ford Mustang. The move was made so AM Racing could get feedback from a NASCAR veteran in hopes of improving its performance in the second half of the season.
“The level of competition in the Xfinity Series is as competitive as it’s ever been,” team president Wade Moore said. “It is our goal at AM Racing to field a competitive race team through our technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing and provide any of our drivers the best equipment and opportunity to be successful on track each weekend.
“With that being said, we haven’t had the success on track that we were hoping for in the first half of the season. When the opportunity to have Joey in the car at Chicago became a possibility, we felt we needed to take advantage of the knowledge and feedback that the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion could provide to our team’s growth. We intended 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 be a stronger second half of the season.”
Deegan, a rookie, has an average finish of 26.8 through the first 17 races. She has three DNFs and four top-20 finishes. The team’s best result was a 12th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway. Her best result on a non-superspeedway was a 15th-place result in Las Vegas.
On the road courses, Deegan has finished 23rd (Austin), 33rd (Portland), and 32nd (Sonoma). Deegan is 27th in the driver championship standings, while the car is 34th in the owner championship standings.
Logano has made 747 starts across all three NASCAR national series. He has 30 wins in the Xfinity Series.
“Racing in the rain on Chicago’s street course last year was a challenge within itself,” Logano said. “Any extra seat time is always a positive for unique tracks such as this one. Driving the NASCAR Xfinity Series cars are a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to climbing behind the wheel of the No. 15 AM Racing Ford Mustang with high hopes to wheel it to the front.”
