KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY RACE PREVIEW
Michael Annett• No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang
Annett has three career starts in the Nationwide Series at Kentucky Speedway
Annett enters this weekend’s event in seventh-place in the Nationwide point standings
Annett’s best finish (seventh) at the 1.5-mile track came in both 2009 and 2011
Michael Annett on Going to Kentucky: “Kentucky Speedway is a fun intermediate track to race on, it’s fast and I typically run well there. After our mechanical issues in Road America, I’m ready to get back in my Pilot Flying J car this weekend and get a good finish. I have two top 10’s at Kentucky and I’m looking for a third on Friday. Night races under the lights are always fun, there is extra excitement in the air and it just makes for a great atmosphere to race in. We’ve been consistently knocking on the door of top-10 finishes this year, and it’s time our team starts cracking the top 10 week in and week out. I couldn’t ask for a better team to be backing me, and I feel like this is the weekend for our Pilot Flying J team to show everyone what we are made of.”
Crew Chief Philippe Lopez’s Thoughts on Kentucky: “This week we are going to have to be able to come up with a package for our Pilot Flying J Ford that not only gives us speed, but one that is going to be able to handle the bumps as well. The roughness of the track always seems to be a big issue at Kentucky, and the way we like to run our cars isn’t’ always conducive to the bumps. I think another factor we are going to have to be conscious of is the fact that this race has the potential to come down to fuel mileage much like it did last year, so pit strategy will be key. Michael ran well last year at Kentucky finishing seventh and we are looking to improve on that this weekend.
“One of the bigger challenges I think we are going to face Friday is the heat. They are calling for it to be close to 100 degrees this weekend, and it’s really going to be the first hot weather race we have had to deal with this season. Not only are the soaring temperatures going to be hard on the driver, they are going to be hard on the car, both the tires and the cooling systems. It’s just one more variable that we haven’t had to deal with yet this year, so we will just have to wait and see how things shake out at the end of the day.”
Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM NASCAR Nationwide Series team has prepared chassis No. 613 for the 200-lap race in Sparta, Ky. This Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang has been run previously this season at Las Vegas and Darlington.
Notes: Annett has three NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Kentucky Speedway. His best finish (seventh) came in both 2009 and 2011. His best starting position (fourth) at 1.5-mile track also came in 2009. Annett heads to Sparta, Ky., in the seventh position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings. The Iowa native has completed 556 of 600 laps attempted at the track. His average start is 17.0 and his average finish is 16.0.
Looking for a Pilot or Flying J store near Kentucky? There are 28 Pilot or Flying J stores within 100 miles of Kentucky Speedway. The nearest store is 23 miles away from the race track. (Flying J (I-75 Exit 171) 13019 Walton Verona Rd., Walton, KY 41094.) There are 114 stores within 250 miles of the track. Go tohttp://www.pilotflyingj.com/locationsfind the nearest locations.
Race Information
Track: Kentucky Speedway
Laps: 200 Laps/300 Miles
Track Size: 1.5-Miles
TV Information: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Radio Information: 7 p.m. ET on PRN
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