No. 43 Team Looks to Better Top-Five Finish from 2012 Race
CONCORD, N.C. (July 30, 2013) – After earning his second top-10 of the season, Michael Annett is heading to his hometown track looking for redemption. Annett was running in the eighth position at Iowa Speedway earlier this year when another car made contact with the No. 43 Ford sending him into the inside wall and resulting in a 30th-place finish.
Annett has seven starts at the .875-mile track, earning one top-five (summer 2012) and two top-10 finishes (2010, 2012). His best start of 12th came in 2010 and he earned his best finish of fourth in the summer of 2012.
Not only will Annett be looking to lead the field to the checkered flag but he will have a different look doing it. Northland will be on the No. 43 Ford at Iowa Speedway this weekend. The oil and lubricant company, based out of Waterloo, Iowa, was also featured on the Annett’s Ford Mustang during this race at Iowa Speedway last year.
Comments from the No. 43 Northland Ford Mustang driver Michael Annett:
“I’m ready to get back to Iowa. After the race in June, I definitely feel like we have some unfinished business there. It was really disappointing running in the top-10 at the end of the race and then have it all taken away. We ran fourth in this race last year, so I feel pretty good about our chances of coming back here. We want to prove that we can finish the job and race for the win.
“It’s going to be a good weekend with Northland on the car. They have been with us before and it’s pretty awesome to see them come back. Being from Iowa, and having an Iowa based company on the car, it gives us a lot to work hard for this weekend. I’m proud of the group that we have at Richard Petty Motorsports and I think we can get it done for Northland.
Comments from Crew Chief Philippe Lopez on Iowa:
“Iowa was a really good race track for us last year.  I thought it was going to be a good race track for us this year. Michael made steady advances up towards the top-10 here earlier this year but ended up getting in a wreck, which obviously ruined the day. I was happy with the way the car ran, but I don’t think it ran as good as it did last year. We’re going to work really hard this weekend in practice to capture what we had. I think we know what was off last time and I expect to be much better this time.”
Chassis History:
Lopez and the No. 43 team has prepared chassis number 743 which last ran at Iowa Speedway race earlier this year.
About Northland Products Company
Northland Products Company, headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa, formulates, manufactures, markets and distributes premium quality engine oil, lubricants, engine coolants and associated fluids throughout North America. Since 1908, Northland’s superior products and customer-driven service are provided to trucking fleets, OEM factory-fill, industrial, automotive and agriculture markets.
About Richard Petty Motorsports
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneurs Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force and STP and Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 9 machine with primary partners Stanley and DEWALT. In addition, Michael Annett wheels the No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team is headquartered in Concord, N.C.
