MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY RACE REPORT
Michael Annett
No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang
Michael Annett started the 125-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Michigan International Speedway from the 18th position. Annett finished the Alliance Truck Parts 250 as follows:
12th—Michael Annett, No.43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang
· Saturday marked Annett’s 11th top-15 finish with Richard Petty Motorsports.
· Annett made his 118th NASCAR Nationwide Series start this weekend.
· Racing at the newly-paved Michigan International Speedway, Annett quickly jumped from 18th to 12th once the green flag dropped. Just before the second caution flag of the day flew, Annett improved another position to settle into the 11th spot.
· NASCAR had planned a Lap 25 competition caution for teams to check tire wear. Annett had no issues, but did want a chassis adjustment for better grip. Crew Chief Philippe Lopez called for the team to make a track bar adjustment and add four tires and fuel to the Pilot Flying J Ford under the first stop of the day.
· The changes seemed to improve the handling of Annett’s car as he raced up to ninth. The third caution of the day came out on Lap 49 for debris. The team made their second stop and pulled tape off of the side window to allow for more grip.
· From Lap 59 to Lap 104, Annett maintained his position inside the top 15, and raced in 11th and 12th. The team made wedge and air pressure adjustments during this time.
· After a series of late-race restarts, Annett was unable to keep momentum on the new top groove to advance, but he was able to hold his ground to finish the race in 12th.
· Joey Logano won the race Saturday afternoon in an event that saw the caution flag wave seven times for a total of 26 laps.
· Unofficially, Annett sits in seventh-place in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings heading into Road America next weekend.
Annett’s Thoughts After the Race: “It was definitely a very interesting race. It kind of felt like cars on a slot car track out there. The final three or four laps were exciting, so I guess the fans did get a good show. It was all about track position really. We needed to come in and make adjustments, and we couldn’t come in and make any gains on track position. We were just trying to make the Pilot Flying J car better all day and it was definitely different in the race than it was it practice. We battled that and still came home with another top-12, so we will take that and go on to the road course next weekend.”
Next up in NASCAR Nationwide Series action is the Sargento 200 at Road America, June 23, at 3 p.m. ET. The event will be broadcast on ESPN.
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