Lebanon, Tenn. (July 25, 2011) – A 225 lap struggle with the handling of their Toyota Camry left Michael Annett and Rusty Wallace Racing’s No. 62 Pilot Flying J team with a 14th place finish at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend. Saturday night’s Nationwide Series Federated Auto Parts 300 proved to be a challenging night for the 25-year-old driver. Faced with an extremely tight handling racecar, Annett fought to keep his black and yellow No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota in the top-15, yearning to race in the top-10 where he belonged.
“We tried several changes and adjustments during pit stops to get the car working better, and we just couldn’t get it where we wanted it. Once again my guys on pit road had some awesome stops, so I commend them for their continuous hard work,” said Annett, “I fought lap after lap to finish where we did, and I just wish we could’ve notched another solid finish in our sponsor, Pilot Flying J’s, home state of Tennessee. We’ll put Nashville behind us and look for a better night in Indy on Saturday.”
Crew chief of the No. 62, Rick Viers, noted, “I’m really proud of Michael for not giving up today. He toughed it out having a car that was difficult to drive, and we’ll have him a better hot rod for next week at Lucas Oil Raceway. We won’t let this weekend put a damper on our momentum. We’re heading to Indy looking for another strong finish for this No. 62 Pilot Flying J team.”
Despite finishing outside of the top-10 for the first time in four consecutive weeks, Annett still holds onto his ninth place position in the Nationwide Series championship point standings.
Rusty Wallace Racing’s No. 62 Pilot Flying J team will return to America’s Heartland next week for the Hoosier State’s 30th Annual Kroger 200. Racing action at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis kicks off on Saturday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tune to ESPN2 and MRN Radio for live coverage of the 200 lap event.
For the latest updates on Michael Annett, visit www.michaelannett.com.
About Pilot Flying J:
Pilot Flying J is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has more than 550 locations in North America. The company employs more than 20,000 people and is the largest retail operator of travel centers in North America. Follow Pilot Flying J on Twitter at @pilottravel.
