Hailie Deegan’s status for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway receives a big update. Will Deegan be back with AM Racing?
[autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag] will not drive the No. 15 Xfinity car for AM Racing at the Chicago Street Course as the organization evaluates its equipment with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano. In the press release, AM Racing mentioned nothing about a possible return, but Deegan’s status for Pocono Raceway has received a big update.
According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, AM Racing is unsure who will be in the No. 15 Xfinity car at Pocono Raceway, while Deegan’s status with the race team is also uncertain. This is the first time AM Racing has suggested that Deegan won’t return to the No. 15 car after the race weekend at the Chicago Street Course on Saturday.
Deegan’s future with AM Racing hasn’t been updated since Monday, when the team announced that Logano would pilot the No. 15 car. Now, the 22-year-old driver’s future is questionable. This doesn’t sound like a one-week absence that automatically places her back in the entry. Deegan’s status with AM Racing is unclear, with more answers possibly coming in Chicago.
Hailie Deegan’s future in NASCAR looks very questionable in 2024. What could be next for Deegan after the Chicago Street Course?
[autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag]’s status with AM Racing is up in the air. On Monday morning, AM Racing announced that Joey Logano will replace Deegan ahead of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course. It was a surprising move that made her ineligible for the playoffs. AM Racing made the decision to evaluate the current performance of the cars.
However, will Deegan return to the No. 15 Xfinity car? It has been a very rough rookie season in the Xfinity Series, as Deegan only has four top-20 finishes through 17 races in 2024. Compared to 2023, when Brett Moffitt finished 15th in the point standings, it has been a disappointing year that led to Logano driving the No. 15 car this weekend.
In the press release, AM Racing didn’t say that Deegan would return to Pocono Raceway on July 13. It seems like more will be known following the race weekend in Chicago. If Deegan doesn’t return to AM Racing, she can move forward in a few directions. One of them is taking her money to a competitive team for a part-time schedule to prove herself.
For example, Deegan could drive part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing, and her performance would solidify her future. Another option could be returning to the NASCAR Truck Series, but she didn’t have much success over the last few years. Finally, the other option is to join a racing series outside NASCAR and see if she flourishes better elsewhere.
Yet, it all comes down to AM Racing’s decision. Will Deegan return to the No. 15 Xfinity car, or has she competed for the last time? The 22-year-old driver’s future is murky, but some questions should be answered over the next week. Deegan’s struggles have put her in a tough spot, and the next move might be career-defining if she continues in NASCAR.
Hailie Deegan has been replaced by AM Racing for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course.
[autotag]AM Racing[/autotag] has made a shocking change ahead of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Chicago Street Course. On Monday afternoon, AM Racing announced that [autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag] will not drive the No. 15 Xfinity car at the Chicago Street Course. Instead, [autotag]Joey Logano[/autotag] will pilot the entry as the organization looks to increase its performance in 2024.
In 2024, Deegan has a best finish of 12th place at Talladega Superspeedway with five straight finishes of 25th place or worse. The 22-year-old driver sits 27th in the point standings, the worst of any driver who has made every start throughout the 2024 NASCAR season. This is a major difference for AM Racing compared to the 2023 season.
Brett Moffitt drove the No. 15 car and finished 15th in the point standings last year. As of now, Deegan sits 27th in the point standings. AM Racing never said when Deegan will return to the entry, but the next Xfinity Series race is at Pocono Raceway on July 13. Logano will look to provide feedback to AM Racing in its efforts to increase performance in 2024.
Hailie Deegan reveals a special NASCAR throwback to Dale Earnhardt Sr. Check out the sharp look for Deegan’s No. 15 car at Darlington!
NASCAR has arrived at Darlington Raceway for its Throwback Weekend, and several elite paint schemes have been released. Hendrick Motorsports is celebrating its 40th anniversary with four paint schemes that fans have asked for over the last few years. However, the NASCAR Cup Series isn’t the only level proving to have incredible paint schemes.
AM Racing driver [autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag] will run a throwback paint scheme honoring Dale Earnhardt Sr. at Darlington this weekend. Deegan’s No. 15 car will resemble Earnhardt’s Wrangler paint scheme during the 1982 NASCAR season. Overall, the No. 15 car has a very sharp look and stands out amongst the throwback paint schemes for the weekend.
Deegan has never made an Xfinity Series start at Darlington, so the expectations shouldn’t be through the roof. The 22-year-old driver has two top-20 finishes at the track in the NASCAR Truck Series, and her best finish of 20th place ranks low among her best venues. Deegan will have a tough challenge at Darlington, but she is up for the task on Saturday.
Hailie Deegan gives her honest take on racing at Daytona International Speedway. Find out what Deegan had to say about Daytona!
[autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag] was excited to strap into her No. 15 car for AM Racing as the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season began at Daytona International Speedway. It was Deegan’s first official race as a full-time Xfinity Series driver; however. she only completed 22 laps. With eight laps to go in Stage 1, a stack-up caused Deegan, Sam Mayer, Daniel Suarez, and Kyle Weatherman to suffer significant damage.
The driver of the No. 15 car laid back but still ran into Suarez at the tail end of the wreck. Following the accident, Deegan talked about her relationship with Daytona as she tries to find the best way to attack superspeedway racing.
“I’ve had a bad relationship with Daytona ever since my first Truck race here,” Deegan said. “It’s been hard for me. I’ve never been able to conquer or, at least, figure out what the right way is — Should you hang back? Should you go? Where is the danger zone?… Still working at it, but I think the next one will obviously be a little bit better, a little more at play.”
Between the Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series, Deegan has a best finish of 17th place at Daytona in 2022. She doesn’t specialize in superspeedway racing, so it remains a learning curve. After Daytona last weekend, Deegan is still unsure how to tackle it. Deegan and the No. 15 team hope that Atlanta Motor Speedway runs more smoothly this weekend.
For many purists, the switch to electric cars marks the beginning of the end for motorsport. Brian Deegan may be a purist, but he doesn’t share the doom and gloom outlook. Deegan was one of a clutch of action sports converts that moved into …
For many purists, the switch to electric cars marks the beginning of the end for motorsport. Brian Deegan may be a purist, but he doesn’t share the doom and gloom outlook.
Deegan was one of a clutch of action sports converts that moved into four-wheeled motorsport at the beginning of the 2010s, racing in X Games’ Rally Car Racing and Rallycross events, as well as the Global Rallycross series they spawned. He last raced in that arena in 2016, winning on his final appearance at the Port of L.A.
“I went over and raced rallycross in Europe, in Finland and Sweden. I thought it was badass,” he tells RACER. “Europe loves rallycross and I was just hoping America would grab onto it, and I feel like we just struggled with having the right promoter.”
Since then, rallycross in the U.S. transitioned from GRC to the IMG-led Americas Rallycross series, before Nitrocross arrived – a whole new take on the formula from the mind of Travis Pastrana, with 1,000 horsepower electric cars and more extreme tracks with bigger jumps and banked turns and, crucially, high profile backing from a group that includes UFC’s Dana White.
“Anything Travis gets behind, it’s going to be good,” Deegan says. “And now he partnered with the right guys as far as with Dana White, and I feel like they can make it happen.”
Deegan made his Nitrocross bow in Arizona last month with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC, coming back for more in December at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California. He’s made steady progress in the four championship rounds he’s run at those two events, from missing the final on his debut to taking seventh on his most recent appearance.
“I feel like they’re kind of the same to drive, but the batteries are low, they’re heavy, they’re in the rear of the car, it makes the car really want to understeer more so you’ve got to drive with a different style and technique,” Deegan says of the differences between the cars of yesterday and today. “It’s been two race weekends now, but it’s taken me two weekends to figure it out because the cars handle so different.
Deegan, pictured at X Games in 2011, was one of the founding fathers of rallycross in the U.S. Paul Webb/Motorsport Images
“But I don’t know, it’s not so much about the car, it’s about the event. It’s about can they make it work? Can they bring money to this event? And I feel like you need manufacturers to bring money.”
The vast majority of Deegan’s rallycross outings came during a boom in manufacturer interest. He drove for Ford, with factory backing, while Dodge, Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, and Volkswagen all had works presences between 2011-17, too. Nowadays, the premier class is a single make formula, but there has been manufacturer interest – RACER knows that several are keen to get involved imminently, but are each waiting for one to make the first move before entering.
“I still feel like you need to get the manufacturers involved if you really want it to be like NASCAR level, and I think maybe it can get there,” Deegan says. “I’m not stuck on one way or the other. I like the old school rallycross cars to be honest, that’s just me, but the new electric rallycross cars… hopefully they open some more horizons, more doors, more budgets.”
There’s often calls from fans for Nitrocross to ‘bring back Supercars’ – the two-liter turbocharged 600 horsepower fire-breathing monsters that raced previously. While running costs between the gas and electric cars are comparable, the unit cost for the cars are around half of what the top factory-developed Supercars were at the peak of their powers. Add in the fact that there are only three recent-spec Supercars in the U.S. (Subaru’s three from 2021), and that manufacturers are unwilling to develop expensive ICE race cars for a niche series, there is no chance of them returning.
But Deegan doesn’t see that as a bad thing, necessarily. What’s more, he thinks it can help transform races into festival-like events that can be embraced by a wider audience.
“I think good racing is good racing. Why’s it always got to be old school?” he muses. “Things can change. You can have cool bands and music festivals and all that stuff going on. The cars, it might be a good thing about the cars being like that, at the end of the day you have to be smart to figure out how to turn it into an entertaining festival. Entertaining is what it’s all about.
“Obviously diehard racers, I get it. Been there, done it. But in the end it’s about putting on a good show, and if they can figure out how to keep the crowd entertained the whole time, I think it’s fine.
Deegan’s the first to agree with those celebrating the appeal of ‘old school’ motorsport, but he also believes that Nitrocross’s embrace of electrification and aproach to putting on events might be the ticket to rallycross finally gaining a permanent foothold in the U.S. Qnigan/Nitrocross
“I just think, you have your diehards, ‘oh no, gas and motors ‘til we die’, and I get it dude, I’m the same way. I love a thousand horsepower engine, the sound of it, it’s awesome, but there’s a new generation coming.”
Deegan’s clearly a fan of what Nitrocross is doing, so does that mean he’s plotting a full-time comeback? He responds to the question with a laugh.
“Well, once the series starts paying a million dollars to win, then I’ll come back,” he jokes. “Nah, I’m just kidding. I do it because it’s fun. I’ve already done my deal in racing, took it super-serious, focused and we won a lot of races but now I’m focused on my kids’ supercross, Hailie’s NASCAR, Hayden’s doing really good, just won the championship in Supercross this year at a young age, and Hudson’s coming up, he’s still 13 so I’ve got the family aspect.
“I just never wanted to be that dad that’s still fighting to win a trophy. I want my kids to have their chance now, but if there’s dates off, open dates, and I can come in and race, dude, for sure. I love it, love to support the sport, love the seat time, love to bring in the sponsors and the entertainment value and anything Travis is doing, I’ll support it. We’re all cut from the same cloth so I’m down to help support what he’s doing and have fun along the way. I like it, you’re in a roll cage, it’s fairly safe.”
It was then put to him that the season finale in Las Vegas takes place on the same weekend NASCAR is in town next March, opening up the potential for a father-daughter showdown. Haillie’s apparently, interested in giving Nitrocross a go at some point, but would prefer to have some testing time beforehand – a luxury her father didn’t get to enjoy.
“The issue is all these guys that race these cars – and I’m jumping in mid-season – they’re all switched on. They don’t make a lot of mistakes at all,” he says. “It’s very tough for someone just to jump in and beat these guys. And even to be competitive and save face and not look bad. So I think Hailie would need to do a lot of testing. She’s only driven rear-wheel-drive cars, she’s never really raced an all-wheel-drive car so I think she would need some time to do it.
“I think she can do it, she’s a good driver, but you can’t just jump in these. I think even a good rally driver from Europe coming over and just jumping in, I’d be very surprised if they could win.”
Hailie Deegan wins the 2023 Most Popular Driver award in the NASCAR Truck Series for the third straight year!
[autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag] has officially been named the 2023 Most Popular Driver Award winner in the NASCAR Truck Series. Deegan received the honor at NASCAR’s banquet in Nashville, Tennessee, as the sport celebrates its 2023 season. This is the third straight year that she has received the award after joining the Truck Series for the 2021 NASCAR season.
Deegan’s victory comes in a year that didn’t see much success with ThorSport Racing. The 22-year-old driver ended the season with two top-10 finishes and a 19th-place finish in the point standings. It was a very, very disappointing campaign for Deegan as her teammate Ben Rhodes won the 2023 Truck Series championship in the No. 99 truck.
Overall, Deegan has developed a great following, and with her move to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with AM Racing in 2024, it wouldn’t be surprising to see her win the award next season. Deegan, Justin Allgaier, and Chase Elliott are NASCAR’s most popular drivers, and this likely won’t be the last time they each receive this honor.
Ford gives an honest answer on Hailie Deegan’s development in NASCAR ahead of the 2024 season. Find out what Ford had to say about Deegan!
[autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag] has been a full-time driver with Ford in the NASCAR Truck Series since 2021 but that will end when the 2024 season begins. Deegan will join AM Racing as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next year. The road for the former ThorSport Racing driver has been very bumpy but there is still optimism about her future.
In fact, Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook was asked about Deegan’s development through the ranks of NASCAR and gave an honest answer. There is time for Deegan to improve as a driver, which is why she will receive a chance in the Xfinity Series.
“It’s been an interesting road, honestly,” Rusbrook said. “We’ve seen certainly some glimmers, some opportunity, but not the sustained performance, candidly, that we’d like to see. But given that opportunity with different teams and more recently with [ThorSport Racing] this year. The race that [Hailie Deegan] did in an Xfinity car last year in Las Vegas did really well.”
“I think this is now an opportunity with her advancing to Xfinity and to a new team to have a different car, have different people around her, and driver styles suit different types of cars and different racing.”
Deegan hasn’t been impressive in the Xfinity Series but this is an opportunity to grow as a driver moving forward. The Truck Series may not have fit her style of racing and other drivers have faced the same issue in the past. It is time for Deegan to show the NASCAR world what she can do as a driver. The next few years will be very important for her career.
AM Racing announced on Thursday morning that Hailie Deegan will drive the No. 15 car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series starting in 2024.
[autotag]AM Racing[/autotag] teased that it had a major announcement regarding the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season earlier in the week and it certainly lived up to the hype. On Thursday morning, the organization announced that it has signed NASCAR Truck Series driver [autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag] to a multi-year deal starting in 2024.
Deegan, 22, will drive the No. 15 car on a full-time basis as Brett Moffit’s status in the No. 25 car remains uncertain. The 22-year-old driver has struggled in the Truck Series over the last few seasons. This year, Deegan moved to ThorSport Racing and failed to make the playoffs. In fact, she has barely improved compared to last season in better equipment.
Hailie Deegan is moving up to the @NASCAR_Xfinity Series in 2024 full-time for AM Racing.
Still, this is a good move for both Deegan and AM Racing. The organization will be able to put a young driver in one of its entries while Deegan finally makes the jump to the Xfinity Series. The idea of Deegan staying in the Truck Series was not a good one and it will be interesting to see what she can accomplish at the next level.
Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart addresses the possibility of signing Hailie Deegan in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for 2024.
[autotag]Stewart-Haas Racing[/autotag] remains one of the major topics in NASCAR silly season for several reasons due to its veteran driver lineup. Kevin Harvick announced before the 2023 NASCAR season that he would retire from full-time racing in the Cup Series. In Harvick’s place, JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry will drive the No. 4 car on a full-time basis in 2024.
Meanwhile, Aric Almirola has a “very high chance” of retiring with the latest updates suggesting that Smithfield Foods, the primary sponsor of the No. 10 car, won’t return to Stewart-Haas Racing. This would be a major development for the organization; however, there is another interesting situation involving its NASCAR Xfinity Series program.
[autotag]Hailie Deegan[/autotag], the driver of the No. 13 truck for ThorsSport Racing is one of Ford’s most popular young prospects. Deegan wants to compete in the Xfinity Series and Stewart-Haas Racing has been mentioned alongside her. After Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart praised Deegan following a dirt race in the SRX Series, he was asked about the possibility of the young driver joining the Xfinity Series program in a call with the media.
“I think it’s funny because we just mentioned that (Hailie Deegan) is a great dirt racer and everybody wants me to put her in a pavement series so that part doesn’t really make sense to me,” Stewart said. “Hailie has such a huge following, that’s why she belongs in the SRX Series and she is a huge talent. Trust me, we have enough irons in the fire just trying to get through what we’ve got right now.”
Deegan currently sits 19th in the point standings with ThorSport Racing equipment so the results have not been present to this point. Still, the driver of the No. 13 truck could make the jump next year. It just might not be to Stewart-Haas Racing as the organization is currently working through its NASCAR Cup Series program.
Hailie Deegan is moving up to the 