Joey Logano Was Asked About Replacing Hailie Deegan In Chicago
07/03/2024 05:06 PM
Joey Logano will replace Hailie Deegan to drive AM Racing's No. 15 Ford at Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
A week after winning at Nashville, the 34-year-old will race on the Chicago Street Course on back-to-back days. Appearing on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Logano told Dale Earnhardt Jr. how the opportunity arose.
"They called me last week and said, 'Hey, we got the seat here for 15 that seems like it's going to open up, and do you want to drive it?'" Logano said (via On3). "I thought, well, I think so. Let me clear [it] with my boss Roger [Penske] and make sure that's okay and there's no sponsor conflicts or anything like that. Once I had all that cleared, it just seemed to make sense on really both ends."
While AM Racing gets an experienced driver behind the wheel, Logano gets a chance to navigate the Chicago Street Course before Sunday's Cup Series race. He decided it was a worthwhile opportunity despite his lack of recent Xfinity reps.
"Feel pretty good about it at that point. It should be fun," he said. "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. I'm looking forward to it."
Logano said he's receiving no support from Team Penske beyond getting a seat to put in his vehicle.
In a statement announcing the move Monday, AM Racing president Wade Moore said the team has fallen short of its competitive goals in 2024.
"We haven't had the success on track that we were hoping for in the first half of the season," Moore said. "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."
