The team made the announcement in a post on its social media accounts Monday morning, less than a week after it had pulled Deegan from the No. 15 Ford and replaced her with two-time Cup champion Joey Logano to run last weekend’s race at the Chicago Street Course.
The statement read: “AM Racing and Hailie Deegan have decided to part ways, effective immediately. 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.”
Last week, the team indicated that they are hoping to improve the team’s competitiveness with input from Logano. In the week since, Deegan had moved all references to AM Racing from her social media accounts.
Logano finished eighth in Saturday’s race at Chicago, the team’s best performance of the season. He hadn’t run a Xfinity race since 2019 but has 30 career series victories.
The team did not immediately name a replacement for Deegan, either for the rest of the season or this weekend’s race at Pocono.
“Our goals no longer align”
Deegan reacted to the news with the following statement: “Beginning this season, I had a lot of excitement and hope in taking my next step in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It’s something I’ve been working towards for years and always dreamt about. I worked hard to prepare for this season after the team pursued me to drive their car. Unfortunately, it has not turned out the way that I expected.
“There are always several reasons within a race team as to why things do or do not work, but sadly our goals no longer align. With that being said, myself and AM Racing will be parting ways. The only thing I am focused on is getting back to being competitive. That is ALL that matters to me. I’m working as quick as possible to find the best opportunities to get back to the track. I’m thankful for the following that I have and everyone who supports me, It’s truly only me that knows the whole story and what I need to succeed. See you at the track, soon.”
Hailie Deegan, AM Racing, AirBox Ford Mustang
Photo by: Nickolas Wolf / NKP / Motorsport Images
Deegan had competed in the first 17 races of the season with AMR but finished no higher than 12th. She had eight finishes outside of the top-30.
Last year, Brett Moffitt drove the No. 15 to one top-five and nine top-10s and ended the year 15th in the series standings.
Deegan was twice named Truck Series most popular driver and made her Xfinity debut during the 2022 season, starting 20th and finishing 13th in her lone start with SS GreenLight Racing. She also competed in the ARCA West series in 2018 and ’19, earning three victories.
In making the announcement of the initial driver change last week, team president Wade Moore said the goal was “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.
