"I will drive the AM 15 car"; "She’s gone" - NASCAR fans react as Hailie Deegan's status unconfirmed by AM Racing for Pocono race

Ahead of the Chicago Street Race, Hailie Deegan was replaced by Joey Logano for The Loop 110 NASCAR Xfinity race. With AM Racing's sudden announcement, fans of the sport shared their thoughts on the future of #15 Ford driver Deegan.

In a recent post on X, Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass cast doubts on #15 Deegan's participation in the Sonoma race on July 13.

"Checked in with AM Racing folk here in the Xfinity garage and still TBD as far as who is in the No. 15 car next week at Pocono and Deegan’s status." Pockrass wrote.

Following Deegan's expressed uncertainty, NASCAR fans shared their thoughts on X (formerly twitter).

"I doubt Deegan would return to this team next year, at this point. It’s hard to know how good your equipment is at a road course, as that usually comes down to a driver’s skill. Maybe they’ll continue to experiment a little more at Pocono," the first user said.

"She’s gone." another user wrote.

Meanwhile, some fans made some comments in jest regarding the #15 Ford and wrote:

"I will drive the AM 15 car," a fan said.

"I am here to announce that AM Racing has decided to put me in the #15 Ford Mustang next week at Pocono," another fan said.

While another fan believes that Deegan is out for good:

"Unfortunately I think she probably lost her seat. She hasn’t had the performances necessary to keep the seat."

"Doesn’t undecided mean they pretty much decided," wrote a user.

2023 NASCAR Truck Series 'Most Popular Driver' Deegan is in her first full-time Xfinity Series season. After impressive performances in three full-time seasons in the Truck Series, the 22-year-old Deegan is still struggling to make her mark in the NASCAR second-tier series. Furthermore, AM Racing announced that Team Penske's Logano would replace Deegan to share his expertise in a one-off in the Chicago Xfinity race, piloting the #15 Ford.

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AM Racing's president sheds light on the reason for Hailie Deegan's switch

With NASCAR in the second half of its regular season, AM Racing team president Wade Moore shared the reason for bringing in two-time Cup Series champion Logano for the Chicago Xfinity race on Saturday.

Moore said the move was made in order to take advantage of Penske's Logano knowledge. Moore said:

"The level of competition in the Xfinity Series is as competitive as it’s ever been."

Moore then continued the conversation by stating:

"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 currently sits P27 in the Xfinity points standings with 174 points to her name. She has an average finish of 26.82 after seventeen starts in the 2024 season.