Indianapolis, Ind. (August 1, 2011) – After securing an eighth place starting position for Saturday’s 30th Annual Kroger 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway, Michael Annett and his No. 62 Pilot Flying J team were optimistic about the night’s event.
Starting off with a free handling race car, a determined Annett fought to race towards the front of the pack throughout the first half of the 200 lap race. The second yellow flag came out on lap 113, and making an effort to gain track position, crew chief Rick Viers called for changing only right side tires when the No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry came to pit road. Viers’ smart move advanced Annett to second for the restart on lap 120.
Battling with the frontrunners, all with the advantage of four fresh Goodyears, Annett maintained a steady hold on the top-five throughout the next 50 green flag laps. With hopes of another strong finish for his Rusty Wallace Racing team, Annett rode in sixth on lap 175 when his promising night was cut short.
With just 25 laps remaining, sixth place Annett was passing the No. 40 car that was five laps down when the lapped car came down from the top side of the track and hit the No. 62, pushing both cars into the wall between turns three and four. Hoping to get his No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry re-fired and to pit road for damage repair before going a lap down, Annett was then struck by teammate Steve Wallace who was tapped and got loose trying to move around the two wrecked cars.
The mayhem brought out the red flag at Lucas Oil Raceway and was unfortunately the ending to night’s race for both of Rusty Wallace Racing’s Toyota Camrys.
“It’s a shame that such a good night had to end this way. Our Pilot Flying J team was heading towards another top-10 finish when a car that was five laps down ruined our night. Both mine and Steve’s cars were good, so it’s unfortunate that both of them are torn up,” said Annett, “We have a big week ahead of us at Iowa Speedway, so we’ll try to stay positive and get focused on a strong finish at my home track next week.”
Next on the schedule for Des Moines, Iowa native Annett is Iowa Speedway’s U.S. Cellular 250 presented by Enlist Weed Control System. One of four Nationwide Series drivers eligible for Nationwide Insurance’s $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus at Iowa Speedway next week, Annett is looking forward to Saturday’s 250 lap event on his home turf. Tune to ESPN2 for live race coverage at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 6.
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.
