Sports
A big help or a blunder for AM Racing in Chicago? Joey Logano Bursts Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Roger Penske-Hailie Deegan Bubble
A big help or a blunder for AM Racing in Chicago? Joey Logano Bursts Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Roger Penske-Hailie Deegan Bubble
As Joey Logano powered himself into the Cup Series playoffs, an Xfinity driver lost her playoff chances. Hailie Deegan, who entered NASCAR’s second tier this year, with hopes of building on her commendable performance in Craftsman Truck, is in a slump already. Halfway through the year, Deegan’s fortunes have fallen, recording only four top-20 finishes. The below-average performances have definitely chipped away her team’s faith in her. She has been replaced by Joey Logano in Chicago.
Dale Jr. sympathized with Deegan and speculated on how Logano could help her if she wanted to stick around for long. He said, “In Chicago what are they really going to learn, I would be shocked and surprised. I believe if Joey goes to their shop and hops in the No. 15 car and goes racing, will this car have an engineer from Penske involved? That’s a bit unusual,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. However, clearly, there is no red carpet for Logano’s Xfinity comeback, as the Team Penske driver recently revealed.
Team Penske did set off on a slow start to the Cup Series this season, and Joey Logano was nowhere near the front row, while his teammate Ryan Blaney had some narrow finishes. But Roger Penske is back in the game, as the team started winning a few weeks ago, and Logano completed a trifecta victory at Nashville. And now he is all set to continue the glory in the Xfinity Series, where he last ran a race in 2019.
Given Logano’s 30 Xfinity wins, Roger Penske is willing to let the No. 22 go without aid. However, Dale Jr. is curious about the benefits without any support that AM Racing is looking for. Shedding the light on the same, on the 3rd July episode of The Dale Jr. Download, Logano outlined the amount of Penske support he is getting to replace Hailie Deegan in one word, which is, “None.”
Then Logano added the details of the minimal help that he was getting. “The support… they helped me put the seat in, that’s good. They gave me a seat to use, and I will use their gear (laughs)…but outside of that, we are going with what they got.”
What Joey Logano did in Nashville was commendable. Team Penske’s gamble for his No. 22 Ford Mustang’s fuel for a final push to the checkered flag was a great show of strategy. “Boy, it was close. But we’ve got to give a lot of credit to Roush Yates, not only building horsepower but building fuel mileage. That’s what won today,” is what he said while concluding his day.
Looking at his win last weekend, he definitely has a shining chance to get an Xfinity win under his belt after so long. Besides the 30 trophies, he owns 36 poles and 95 top-fives in NASCAR’s second tier. Last year, he started 7th and finished 8th in the Cup Series’ first-ever Chicago Street Race. However, this shiny resume may feel like a slap on Hailie Deegan’s face as her team ditched her for Logano, but it surely answers Dale Jr.’s concerns over the swap.
USA Today via Reuters
On the other hand, sitting 27th in the driver rankings, Hailie Deegan could not stumble beyond a 12th-place finish this year. Given that only 38 of 43 cars can qualify for Chicago, AM Racing chose to eject Deegan for the weekend. Hailie Deegan’s qualifying efforts on road courses include 35th at COTA and 38th at Portland. Thus, the No. 15 driver’s future looks bleak, as NASCAR would not grant her a waiver for getting benched in Chicago.
In fact, her rookie season in the Xfinity Series witness an average finish of 26.8. 17 of her races ended with a 20th or better result. All of this leads the young driver to stand in the 27th place in Xfinity. But as Hailie Deegan’s fate hangs in the balance, Joey Logano is resuming his glorious streak. Replacing Deegan’s ride would also boost his Chicago efforts.
THERE IS COMMENT BOX AFTER THE ADS, SHARE YOUR THOUGHT WITH US
Mick Schumacher is being “evaluated” for the second seat at Sauber next year and is on Mattia Binotto’s shortlist.
Schumacher, son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, spent two years on the grid in F1 with Haas from 2021-2022 before being dropped following a difficult second campaign.
The German has since played the role of reserve driver at Mercedes behind George Russell and Lewis Hamilton and is a regular presence in the paddock, but has been limited to in-house testing sessions. The 25-year-old has, however, raced this year for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship.
However, as revealed to The Independent earlier this year, he is still focused on landing a second chance in F1 but there is now only one seat unconfirmed for next year, at Sauber.
Yet Binotto, who knows Schumacher well from his time at Ferrari, revealed to Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport that Schumacher is on his shortlist to be Nico Hulkenberg’s team-mate next year.
“Definitely, we are evaluating him,” Binotto said.
“I have met and talked to him, I have known him for a long time having been part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. I know the merits and advantages of him, he is one of the names we have in mind.”
Valtteri Bottas is believed to be the favourite to retain his seat at Sauber, who officially become Audi in 2026, with McLaren junior driver and F2 championship leader Bortoleto also a serious candidate alongside Williams’ Franco Colapinto.
A factor which could work in Schumacher’s favour, however, is that Sauber’s new chief technical officer, Binotto, worked with Schumacher during the German’s time as a Ferrari junior driver.
Schumacher stated in June that he is “really hungry” to carve a route back into F1 as a first choice over other motorsport series.’
“There’s a lot which hasn’t been seen yet, especially from a driving point of view,” he said.
“It’s never been a secret, my goal is to be back on the grid. I’ve shown in multiple ways that I am capable of winning championships. It’s just a matter of it fitting into somebody’s schedule, does it fit into their plan?
THERE IS COMMENT BOX AFTER THE ADS, SHARE YOUR THOUGHT WITH US
Lewis Hamilton has proved an unlikely ally for Red Bull following the ‘ride height’ controversy that has dominated the build-up to the United States Grand Prix. Christian Horner’s team have confirmed ahead of the race in Austin that they have made a change to their cars following talks with the FIA, with rivals accusing them of breaking regulations.
Other teams claim the reigning Constructors’ champions are using a device which can change the ride height of their vehicles under parc ferme conditions, giving them an unfair advantage.
McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have both hit out, with the Australian pointedly saying: “Something like this is not pushing the boundaries. It’s clearly breaking them.”
Hamilton, however, has defended Red Bull. Despite his notoriously spiky relationship with Horner and Max Verstappen, which peaked during the pair’s ill-tempered 2021 title battle, the seven-time world champion has argued the team had shown initiative with their so-called ‘tea-tray’ mechanism.
“I’ve only just heard about it, before I got here,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. “But I think the name of our sport is all about innovation. Red Bull have been the leaders and they’ve innovated.
“Ultimately all the teams look at the rules and try to find how to massage those rules and get the most out of it, even if it’s just over the edge a little bit. You just need to continue to evolve and be better policed.”
However the 39-year-old did slyly imply the addition to Red Bull’s cars may have been benefiting them for years before now. “At the end of the day they did a better job. God knows how long they’ve had that, and they’ve been winning championships,” he added.
“Maybe that stops now, although I don’t think that’s the one thing that’s going to stop them. But I think everyone else, we’ve got to continue to be innovators and leading rather than trying to catch up.”
THERE IS COMMENT BOX AFTER THE ADS, SHARE YOUR THOUGHT WITH US
In a court filing Wednesday, NASCAR has fired back against Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin-led 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (FRM). The organization called the lawsuit “meritless” amid a quest for more a more favorable contract.
“Plaintiffs have filed a meritless suit against NASCAR alleging baseless antitrust claims in order to obtain commercial agreements they previously rejected, and to attempt to extort more favorable contract terms,” the filing read, via Bob Packrass.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in a North Carolina federal court, accused NASCAR and CEO Jim France of “unlawful monopolization of premier stock car racing in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams.”
In a filing Wednesday, NASCAR said it hopes for expedited discovery. The organization also noted its plan to have 32 Charters for the upcoming season amid the ongoing dispute.
“NASCAR has taken steps, consistent with its contractual obligations to other Charter Teams, to plan for a season with only 32 Charters,” the filing read. “NASCAR is working on reallocating funds that Plaintiffs would have received to increase prize money and other special awards for the 2025 season for the benefit of teams that timely executed 2025 Charters, as well as Open teams who can compete to win the increased prize money.”
Last week, Hamlin laid out the next steps for the lawsuit on his Actions Detrimental podcast. He explained what 23XI and Front Row will do next for the 2025 Cup Series season and beyond.
“We stated that we’ll be filing for an injunction. That’s the first thing that has to happen,” Hamlin said. “The injunction is basically we’re going to seek relief, and in injunctions, you typically have to show — again, I’m not a lawyer, so be careful here — you have to show irreparable harm if you don’t stop it.
