Hailie Deegan, AM Racing part ways, effective immediately

AM Racing has parted ways with driver Hailie Deegan effective immediately, the NASCAR Xfinity Series team announced Monday morning.

“AM Racing and Hailie Deegan have decided to part ways, effective immediately,” the team statement reads. “We are grateful for Hailie’s contributions and dedication as the driver of the No. 15 Ford Mustang during her time with the race team. We wish Hailie the best in her future endeavors and look forward to her continued success on and off the track.”

The 22-year-old native of Temecula, California, had piloted the team’s No. 15 Ford entry for the first 17 races of the season, her rookie campaign, to an average finish of 26.8 with just four results of 20th or better. Deegan currently sits in 28th place in the season-long standings, dropping a spot after sitting out Saturday’s The Loop 110. The team opted to have two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano pilot the car this past weekend at the Chicago Street Course, where the Connecticut native turned in an eighth-place run for the car’s best finish of the season.

MORE: Full Chicago results | Xfinity Series standings

Before the weekend, team president Wade Moore addressed the driver swap in a team release.

“The level of competition in the Xfinity Series is as competitive as it‘s ever been,” 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 a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion could provide to our teams‘ growth.”

Deegan was signed to Ford‘s driver development program in December 2019. Her jump to the Xfinity Series for 2024 was announced last October in a multiyear deal with AM Racing after three seasons in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Deegan additionally announced the decision on X, formerly known as Twitter.

https://twitter.com/HailieDeegan/status/1810312785609281574

The series next races this Saturday at Pocono Raceway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The team has yet to announce a driver for the “Tricky Triangle” and beyond.