Hailie Deegan is moving up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024 with AM Racing, AM announced Oct. 5.
She will drive the newly formed No. 15 full time in the series with sponsorship from AirBox and VIVA.
The deal Deegan signs is for multiple years, though the exact length was not disclosed.
“I am excited about the opportunity to compete full time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, starting next year with AM Racing,” Deegan said in a team release. “From the start, the team has been nothing but great to work with, and the vision that Wade [Moore, AM president] has for the team to accomplish align with my values perfectly. Through the support of Ford and the AM Racing team, I feel that we will achieve great things together in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and I can’t wait to see what the next few years have in store for all of us.”
“AM Racing is proud to announce the addition of Hailie to the family,” Moore added. “We are excited to provide her with a home where she can grow as a cornerstone of our young program. It is an exciting time as we continue to strengthen our relationships within the Ford camp, AIRBOX, Viva, and our other partners respectively. There is a great deal of work to be done for all of us, but we are grateful and welcome the challenges ahead.”
AM has not yet announced the status of its current full-time team, the No. 25, for 2024. Brett Moffitt currently pilots the ride, with one top five and nine top 10s in the organization’s inaugural full-time season in the series.
Deegan has spent the last three years full time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, most recently with ThorSport Racing. In 67 starts since 2020, she has five top 10s.
She also made her Xfinity debut in 2022 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finishing 13th.
ThorSport has not announced a replacement for Deegan in the Truck Series.
Rutherford is the managing editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2015 after serving on the editing staff for two years. At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Headline should be Monster Energy moves, drags Hailie along.
I’ve been pulling for Hailey but, so far, it doesn’t seems like she’s progressed enough to make this move. Looks like a totally sponsor driven move, as in, some sponsor is willing to pay to have her in the car. Nothing new there. Hopefully she will grow into her seat but I’m not holding my breath.
reminds me of princess sparkle pony’s deal all those years ago. we know how that ended.
It’s called failing upwards.
there are other probably better woman drivers. They just need to find them. This is going to be another danica patrick type situation.
Sounds about right — get rid of a more successful drive for a less successful one from a lower series. I hope, at least, that Hailie will rein in some of the incessant giggling next year.
It’s a new, second car for AM Racing. No one lost a ride.
Remember Joanna Long she would most of the time finish higher than Danica in lesser equipment.
See this as a collective Nascar marketing scheme.