The Headlines:
Bristol Bound: After two back-to-back weeks of competing on road courses, Michael Annett returns to oval track racing at Thunder Valley this week. Friday’s Nationwide Series Food City 250 will be the 25-year-old’s sixth attempt at Bristol Motor Speedway’s .533 mile bullring. Annett has completed 99.3 percent of laps contested there. The young driver notched his best Bristol finish in August 2009 claiming Rookie of the Race honors for finishing eighth.
RWR at Bristol: The Mooresville, N.C. based Rusty Wallace Racing organization has 29 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway with three pole awards, two top-five finishes and 12 top-10 finishes to their name. Team owner, Rusty Wallace, is known as an ace on Bristol’s high-banked, half-mile track with seven pole awards and nine Sprint Cup Series wins there. Significantly, Bristol is the venue where Wallace scored his first ever victory in NASCAR’s premier series.
Thunder Valley Home to Pilot Flying J: Headquartered in nearby Knoxville, Tennessee, Pilot Flying J’s home track is Bristol Motor Speedway. The BMS compound is situated on the border of Virginia and Tennessee, and Pilot Flying J offers 73 locations in those two states combined, 12 locations in Virginia and 61 locations in their home state of Tennessee. Thirty of those 73 Tennessee Pilot Flying J stops are located in Pilot Flying J’s founding city of Knoxville.
Michael Annett’s History with Pilot Flying J: Pilot Flying J has partnered with Annett for the past five years of his career in motorsports while competing in the ARCA Racing Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and currently in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Annett and Pilot Flying J entered the sport together in 2007 and since their start have visited Victory Lane twice at two of the most prestigious racetracks, Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway, tallied six top-fives and earned 21 top-10’s. Carrying the colors of loyal sponsor Pilot Flying J, Annett finished 10th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship point standings in 2009.
Nationwide Offers Code Spotter Contest: Nationwide Insurance is giving a lucky fan the chance to win a VIP prize of spending the day with the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. Enter to win at www.codespotter.com, and type in Michael Annett’s code “ANNETT”. Fans can enter once per day through midnight on September 5 to win Nationwide’s exclusive NASCAR Champion VIP Experience.
Cast Your Vote: Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver voting has returned for the fourth consecutive year in 2011 and is underway on NASCAR.com. Fans can cast their vote for Michael Annett once per day by visiting www.NASCAR.com/nnsmpd. Voting runs from now until November 17. The winner of the Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver award will be announced at the year-end banquet on November 21.
For the latest updates on Michael Annett, visit www.michaelannett.com.
From the Cockpit:
Michael Annett on racing at Pilot Flying J’s home track:
“Bristol is an exciting track, and racing there under the lights makes it one of the most exciting races of the year. Bristol is Pilot Flying J’s home track, so that brings in another element of excitement as well. We always have a big group of folks from Pilot Flying J headquarters there to support us for this race, so putting on a top notch performance for those who make this possible is pivotal. After two road course races in-a-row, we’re looking forward to getting back to oval track racing this week and bringing home a strong finish for Pilot Flying J.”
Talking Shop:
Crew chief Rick Viers on Friday’s race:
“Bristol is one of my favorite tracks, and I know it’s important to both Michael and Pilot Flying J as well. The kind of racing that track puts on, and now with the new surface, will definitely make for an exciting night under the lights on Friday. With 10 races to go, we know this is a track where we can run well and again gain some more valuable points.”
The Machines:
Team 62 Primary: RWR-061 – Annett most recently finished 14th in this car at Nashville Superspeedway in July. RWR’s No. 62 team also raced this chassis in Dover, as well as at Chicagoland Speedway and Kentucky Speedway where they finished ninth and seventh respectively.
Team 62 Back-Up: RWR-051 – The No. 62 Pilot Flying J team’s last race competing with this chassis was at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.
Pilot Flying J Locations on Your Way:
Pilot Flying J provides 61 Pilot Travel Centers and Flying J locations along the roads of the state of Tennessee. Eight of these locations are conveniently positioned within a 100 mile radius of Bristol Motor Speedway. For more information on Pilot Flying J and to map their nearest locations along your route, please visit www.pilotflyingj.com.
Pilot Travel Center
I-81 Exit 36
11190 Baileyton Road
Greeneville, TN 37745
Pilot Travel Center
I-81 Exit 4
3624 Roy Messer Highway
White Pine, TN 37890
Flying J
I-77 & I-81 Exit 77
3249 Chapman Road
Wytheville, VA 24382
Flying J
I-81 & I-77 Exit 80
I-81/I-77 Exit 80
Fort Chiswell, VA 24360
Pilot Travel Center
I-40 Exit 417
505 Patriot Drive
Dandridge, TN 37725
Pilot Travel Center
I-40 & NC 209 Exit 24
3712 Crabtree Road
Waynesville, NC 28786
Pilot Travel Center
Hwy 25 Route 2
3000 US Highway 25E
Middlesboro, KY 40965
Pilot Travel Center
I-40 Exit 398
7210 Straw Plains Pike
Knoxville, TN 37914
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.
Broadcast Info:
Final Practice
Friday, August 26, 9:30 a.m. ET
SPEED
Qualifying
Friday, August 26, 3:40 p.m. ET
SPEED
Food City 250
Friday, August 26, 7:30 p.m. ET
ESPN
