Joey Logano addresses replacing Hailie Deegan for AM Racing at Chicago

Joey Logano will be doing double duty this weekend as he will replace Hailie Deegan for AM Racing in Chicago along with competing in the Cup Series race. While appearing on the latest episode of Dale Jr. Download, Logano explained how he was able to fill in for Deegan who is currently struggling in the Xfinity Series.

“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.

“When you think about AM Racing, they were looking to have an experienced driver in there and get kind of get an idea of where their program’s at and see if I can help them from that perspective. I was looking at it and saying ‘Man, I can get more laps on the Chicago Street Course, can’t be anything bad with that either.’ I felt like that was worth it to me. I went up to their shop and checked their cars out and then was able to go back up get the seat in there. Feel pretty good about it at this point. It should be fun. It’s definitely a lot different than what I’m used to, and I haven’t driven an Xfinity car since 2019. It’s been a while since I’ve been in one.”

Why AM Racing Chose Joey Logano to replace Hailie Deegan

Logano will drive the No. 15 Ford for AM Racing in The Loop 110. AM President Wade Moore explained why the team wanted Logano to drive its car on Saturday.

“The level of competition in the Xfinity Series is as competitive as it’s ever been,” Moore said in a release from the team. “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 is in her rookie season as a full-time Xfinity Series driver. She has competed in 17 Xfinity Series races, and her best finish was P12 at Talladega in April.