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[/media-credit]RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY NATIONWIDE RACE REPORT
Michael Annett
No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang
Michael Annett started the 250-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Richmond International Raceway from the 19th position. Annett finished the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 as follows:
8th—Michael Annett, No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang
Friday night marked Annett’s third top-10 and fourth consecutive finish of 11th or better in 2012 for Richard Petty Motorsports.
Starting Friday night’s 250-lap race in 19th, Annett was running in the 14th position by Lap 50. He told Crew Chief Philippe Lopez that his Ford needed more “forward grip”, but overall he was happy with the car.
The crew was able to adjust on the Pilot Flying J Ford for Annett during a Lap 69 caution period, and went down one round on the track bar. Annett seemed pleased with the change, and by Lap 115 he was running in 10th place.
The third and final caution of the night came on Lap 116 and Annett came down pit road for another track bar adjustment. Again, the changes made seemed to work and this time Annett raced to seventh place by Lap 160.
Annett ran in the top-10 the remainder of the night. The crew made one final pit stop on Lap 208 for four tires, but made no chassis adjustments. The team was hoping for a caution to come out before pitting, but it never came. However, the team did lead a lap and gain a bonus point in the championship chase.
Annett was strong the rest of the night and crossed the finish line in the eighth position. He was the fourth best finisher of a Nationwide Series regulars.
Kurt Busch won the race beating Denny Hamlin. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the best Ford finisher followed by Annett.
Unofficially, Annett remains fifth in points, but sits only 12 points out of the fourth position held by Sam Hornish Jr.
Annett’s Thoughts After the Race: “It was a really good night. We still need to qualify better. We keep making it harder on ourselves, or I do. Really we didn’t face any adversity. We moved forward all night, slow and steady in the beginning and then on one of those restarts our car took off and we moved into the top-10 and stayed there the rest of the race. The pit sequence kind of got messed up a little bit when the No. 33 came in early and we were planning on coming in a lot later. We led a couple laps and came in. That might have been a tick too long to wait to try to make up the time. Still, it is another top-10 finish and another good points night for the No. 43 Pilot Flying J team.”
