What a difference four days can make. Part I of this story was published prior to the race at Nashville Superspeedway. Shortly after the story was published, AM Racing and Hailie Deegan responded to an earlier inquiry I had sent for the original story.
Their response included Deegan’s answers to several questions. Those answers were received on June 27. Four days later, it became public that Deegan’s situation with AM Racing had taken a turn in an unfavorable direction.
The first domino was the announcement that Joey Logano would replace Deegan in the car at the Chicago street course. At first, this made some sense. The event had one of the largest entry lists in recent memory. With the team’s low position in the owner points, a poor qualifying effort could mean missing the show. Logano could provide the veteran savvy needed to get the team into the show safely, and to also evaluate the program after a disappointing first half of the season.
But that announcement from AM Racing was curiously vague and did not specify whether Deegan would return to the car the following week, or at all. Logano had a solid but unspectacular day in the race on July 6. He ran most of the day between 10th and 15th, and finished eighth. This was almost definitely better than Deegan would’ve faired, but Logano’s modest performance in the car may have also shown the problems couldn’t be completely attributed to Deegan.
Two days after the race, the other shoe dropped. AM Racing and Deegan announced they had agreed to part ways.
Throughout the process of preparing for part I of this story, I had heard from Deegan. I also had a lengthy on-record conversation with Stephen Thurston, a co-founder of one of Deegan’s primary sponsors, Viva Tequila Seltzer. The day after speaking at length with Thurston, the Logano announcement was made. It was clear that Thurston had no idea this was coming.
For a driver who boasts a larger Instagram following than Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Chase Elliott combined, there is a lot to unpack here. If Deegan was able to compete for wins on a semi-regular basis, there is no doubt it would be a boon for TV ratings and overall growth, bringing in a new group of fans who may have otherwise never tuned in.
How many women and girl-dads around the country would love to see her beat a field full of men and bring home a checkered flag? Can you imagine seeing Deegan doing burnouts and a victory lane interview? The impact…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …