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[/media-credit]IOWA SPEEDWAY RACE PREVIEW
Michael Annett• No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang
Annett has four career starts in the Nationwide Series at Iowa Speedway
Annett enters this weekend’s event in sixth-place in the Nationwide point standings
Annett’s best finish (seventh) at his home track came in 2010
Michael Annett on Going to Iowa Speedway: “I can’t wait to go race at my home track this weekend. Growing up in Des Moines I still have a lot of friends and family in the area and they always come out to the race to support me. This weekend is also exciting because it’s our only Sunday afternoon race of the year, it gives us Nationwide drivers a chance to shine on Sunday afternoon since the Cup guys will have raced the night before. I just really like everything about this race, I like the race track and I like the atmosphere, it’s just a great weekend for us all around. It will be my first time racing in front of my hometown crowd in the iconic No. 43 and it would mean the world if I could put my Pilot Flying J Ford in Victory Lane at the end of the day in front of all my family and friends.”
Crew Chief Philippe Lopez’s Thoughts on Racing in Iowa: “I’ve never been to Iowa Speedway before, but I’ve been working really hard the past week reviewing our Ford teammate’s logs from last year. It seems like Iowa is a lot like Richmond, however, from what I’ve watched on video and what I have been told, it does vary a little bit because there is a huge bump in the middle of Turns 1 and 2 at Iowa. Figuring out that bump is going to be the key to this weekend’s race. We are going to have to get the Pilot Flying J Ford over that bump without upsetting the car too much and if we can do that then we should be able to get the car to be really fast. We will also need to make sure we get the shocks right so they can handle the bump, If we can do all of that we will be in good shape on Sunday.
“We want to race well each and every week no matter where we go, but with this being Michael’s home track, we want to make sure we have a flawless weekend. We didn’t necessarily do anything extra this week in preparation, but we definitely made sure we crossed our ‘Ts’ and dotted our ‘I’s’ because he has done a great job racing for us this year and we want to do the same for him. If we can help get him to shine in front of his hometown crowd, then that will make for a special weekend for all of us.”
Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM NASCAR Nationwide Series team has prepared chassis No. 644 for the 250-lap race at Iowa. This Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang was run previously this season at Richmond.
Notes: Annett has four NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Iowa Speedway. His best finish (seventh) and his best start (12th) came in 2010 at the .875-mile track. Annett heads to his home track in the sixth position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings. The Iowa native has completed 100 percent of laps attempted at the track, leading four of them. His average start is 22.2 and his average finish is 10.8.
Looking for a Pilot or Flying J store near Iowa? There are 7 Pilot or Flying J stores within 100 miles of Iowa Speedway. The nearest store is 25 miles away from the race track. (Flying J (I-80 & Exit 42) 3231 Adventureland Dr., Altoona, IA, 50009.) There are 33 stores within 250 miles of the track. Go tohttp://www.pilotflyingj.com/locationsfind the nearest locations.
Can’t get enough of Annett? Michael will participate in the NASCAR Nationwide Series autograph session on Saturday from 2-2:45 p.m. CT. The session is located in the concourse area under the North Grandstand.
Race Information
Track: Iowa Speedway
Laps: 250 Laps/218.75 Miles
Track Size: .875-Miles
TV Information: 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Radio Information: 1:30 p.m. ET on MRN
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