Hailie Deegan, currently the only woman racing full time in one of NASCAR’s top three national series, has parted ways with her Xfinity Series team AM Racing after a disappointing first half of the season.

Deegan was removed from her car before Saturday’s Xfinity race on the streets of Chicago in favor of two-time NASCAR champion Joey Logano. At the time, the team said Logano would “fill in” for Deegan, and he finished a season-best eighth for the No. 15 car (which had been averaging a finish of 26.8 with Deegan behind the wheel).

But on Monday, Deegan posted on her social media accounts that she will not return to AM Racing.

“(Racing in the Xfinity Series) is something I’ve been working towards for years and always dreamt about,” she wrote. “I worked hard to prepare for this season after the team pursued me to drive their car. Unfortunately, it has not turned out the way that I expected.”

Deegan added her goals “no longer align” with the team and said she was “working as quick as possible to find the best opportunities to get back to the track.”

“It’s truly only me that knows the whole story and what I need to succeed,” she added.

Deegan entered the NASCAR national series ranks in 2021 with high expectations after she won three races at NASCAR’s…

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and JTG Daugherty Racing have agreed to a multi-year contract extension, the NASCAR Cup Series team announced Thursday. Stenhouse’s contract was set to expire at the end of the season.

Stenhouse, 36 joined JTG, a single-car team co-owned by husband and wife Tad and Jodi Geschickter, and retired NBA player Brad Daugherty, in 2020 after seven years with the since rebranded RFK Racing.

In 2023, Stenhouse delivered JTG its most successful season that saw Stenhouse win the Daytona 500 and clinch JTG just its second-ever playoff berth. Stenhouse also, arguably, produced JTG’s most consistent results through the course of a season since the team first began competing full-time in NASCAR’s premier division in 2009. Stenhouse’s nine top-10 finishes and 17.8 average finish tied the team’s previous high in both statistical categories.

Stenhouse currently ranks 27th in the 2024 standings, with a best finish of fourth through 11 races, occurring two weeks ago at Talladega Superspeedway.

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(Photo: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)

NASCAR’s ties to Bowman Gray Stadium run deep, a bond established over decades.

The first race on the legendary short track in Winston-Salem, N.C., was co-promoted by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., the track played host to its first NASCAR race in 1949 and it was the first NASCAR-sanctioned track to host weekly grassroots racing, something it continues to do to this day.

Bowman Gray’s importance to NASCAR history extends beyond what transpired on the quarter-mile bullring. The track is also where NASCAR’s first family met, with Bill France Jr. being introduced to his future wife, Betty Jane Zachary, in 1957. Betty Jane became an instrumental figure in growing NASCAR into a billion-dollar business empire.

NASCAR’s connection to Bowman Gray is now entering a new chapter. On Thursday, NASCAR will announce it has acquired the lease to manage racing operations at the track effective immediately. The lease runs through December 2050.

“This is a really kind of special moment for us,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing development and strategy. Kennedy is France Sr.’s great-grandson, and the nephew of NASCAR CEO Jim France. He also won a NASCAR East Series race at Bowman Gray in 2013.

“I know it is especially meaningful for Jim seeing that he…