Dale Earnhardt Jr. raises big questions over Joey Logano replacing Hailie Deegan in Xfinity race at Chicago

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has questions about Joey Logano replacing Hailie Deegan in the Xfinity Series race at Chicago this weekend. On the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt revealed what concerned him about AM Racing having Logano drive the No. 15 car.

“This is a tough situation for Hailie because no matter what spin they use in a media release, Joey’s getting put in the car, she’s getting pulled out,” Earnhardt said. “It’s a tough situation for her. My advice I think would be to be as professional as you can. If she is to get back in the car, if she is the future of that team, if she is to finish the year in this car, having Joey drive it absolutely is a benefit. You don’t want to sit out a race, but having a guy like Joey in there, and I don’t know what Joey can really truly help them with a road course. If anything, you’d rather Joey be driving the car at some of the ovals.”

Earnhardt also said that it was a common thing for a younger driver to ask a veteran to their car and give them feedback. “I like this situation. I don’t think is a bad situation,” Earnhardt stated. “But at Chicago, what are they really going to learn that they can take to all of the other racetracks that they run at?

Will Joey Logano get support from Team Penske?

“…I would be shocked and surprised I believe if Joey just goes over to their shop and hops in that 15 car and goes racing. Will there be some Penske influence? Will this car have an engineer from Penske involved? Will nothing happen? Will Joey just go drive this 15 car that’s a back marker for the most part or runs in the back half of the field?

Once Earnhardt reacted to the news of Logano replacing Deegan for the Chicago Xfinity Series race, he spoke to Logano about getting the call from AM Racing. “They called me last week and said ‘Hey, we got the seat here for the 15 that seems like it’s going to open up and do you want to drive it?’” Logano explained. “I thought well, I think so. Let me clear with my boss Roger [Penske] and make sure that’s okay and there’s no sponsor conflicts. Once I had all that cleared, it just seemed to make sense on really both ends. That’s what a good deal is when it works on both sides of the deal.”