NASCAR

NASCAR | Did Joey Logano cost Hailie Deegan a job? Push comes to shove for Bubba Wallace

Ken Willis
Daytona Beach News-Journal

Did Joey Logano get Hailie Deegan fired from her Xfinity Series ride?

Whoa, that’s quite a leap. For starters, it could possibly be a mutual “parting of ways” between Deegan and her AM Racing Xfinity Series team. You never know for sure.

The drama began when the team replaced Deegan with Logano for Saturday’s Chicago race, and the two-time Cup champ finished eighth with a team that hadn’t finished better than 15th all year and was usually well below that.

You shouldn’t compare a seasoned champ like Joey to an Xfinity rookie like Hailie, but Joey did sorta show that the No. 15 can run better than it had been.

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Hailie Deegan will no longer pilot the No. 15 Ford Mustang for AM Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Meanwhile, Deegan’s marketing appeal suggests she’ll get at least one more shot, and a lot of folks hope it’s a better all-around fit and definitely hope for better results. If not, she wouldn't be first driver to come and go.

Bubba Wallace waited all that time to door-slam Alex Bowman?

Yep, through rain delays, cautions, and into the “cool down” lap before broadsiding Bowman in retaliation for Bowman crashing Bubba out of contention earlier — a mistake Bowman admitted and apologized for after the fact.

As we’ve seen on several occasions, Bubba isn’t shy or afraid to gather the spotlight, so delivering a hefty blow to Bowman’s winning car wasn’t exactly off-brand for Bubba. Bowman basically said he deserved it, so that might be the end of this.

Maybe it could’ve been handled earlier, and it definitely could’ve been handled later … but that’s no fun, is it?