Joey Logano to fill in for Hailie Deegan in Chicago NASCAR Xfinity race

Instead, 2x NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano will get behind the wheel of the No. 15 AMR Ford Mustang.

In a statement, the team indicated that they are hoping to improve the team’s competitiveness with input from Logano. Deegan has competed in all 17 races so far this year with AMR, but has no finish higher than 12th. She also has eight finishes outside of the top-30, which is a sudden step down in performance after 2023.

Last year, Brett Moffitt drove the No. 15 AMR Ford to one top-five and nine top-tens, and ended the year 15th in the points standings. Deegan is currently 27th, which is last among full-time drivers.

The 22-year-old Deegan is a rookie in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after spending three full-time seasons in the Truck Series. While there, she earned five top-tens in 69 starts and scored as high as 17th in the points standings.

Hailie Deegan, AM Racing, AirBox Ford Mustang

Photo by: Gavin Baker / NKP / Motorsport Images

“The level of competition in the Xfinity Series is as competitive as it’s ever been,” said AM Racing team president Wade Moore in a press release. “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.”

Added Moore: “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 victories as a 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 in victory lane

Photo by: Rusty Jones / NKP / Motorsport Images

“Racing in the rain on Chicago’s Street Course last year was a challenge within itself,” said Logano. “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.”

Logano is also the latest winner in the Cup Series, earning his first points-paying victory of the 2024 season at Nashville Superspeedway. He also won the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, earlier this year.