Following a sub-par season with Tommy Baldwin Racing, Michael Annett is on the move as he switched to Harry Scott Motorsports to become teammates with Justin Allgaier. Annett believes that the decision marks the right move for his career based on the success that Scott has had as an owner.
“I’ve been around this sport from when Harry was getting into it, and to see every organization that he has come into, whether K&N, truck series, it doesn’t take very long for them to have success,” Annett commented on media day. “I think we saw that last year with having a brand new Cup team and I think it was just about mid-season and Justin and I started as rookie last year and we were parked next to each other, and he kept getting further and further away from me to ask questions. Just to see the success that they have experienced in that second half, I don’t think they wanted to see the season end.
His statement stands true as Allgaier was able to string together a couple top-20 finishes to close out the year, setting himself up with momentum heading into the season. Harry Scott Jr. has also proven himself as an owner in the other divisions, winning a K&N title with Dylan Kwasniewski and a Truck Series title with James Buescher.
“We still need to fill some spots with people, but we’re not just going to be filling spots. Everybody from Harry to (competition director) Steve (Addington), they’re very calculated and that’s why they have the success that they do,” Annett continued. “To be able to jump into an organization that was on a roll last year that is going to keep going and getting better is a huge opportunity for me.
Last year in his rookie season in the series, Annett posted two top-20 finishes on the season en route to finishing 32nd in points. The hope is strong to improve upon that in 2015 as Justin Allgaier was able to finish 29th in points with nine top-20 finishes, highlighted by a pair of 15ths. Allgaier is also hopeful that they will find more success as he feels having a teammate to lean on to share resources will be huge.
“To have somebody that not only you can bounce ideas off of, and compare to on a race weekend, but to also have those resources that having a second car will allow us to do, and have that extra bit,” Allgaier commented. “Going to the race tracks last year, we were on our own island if you will. The set-ups, and the things we were trying to learn, we weren’t able to push the envelope because we were focused on what was working and trying to make that go forward. This allows us to get outside of the box a little bit.”
Scott Jr. added to Allgaier’s point, saying the addition of a second team will allow them to “double resources and double data points”.
“I’ve had multiple conversations with Steve Addington and he has a solid plan to make the best of having two cars this year, and utilize our resources to get even better,” Scott Jr. commented. “I feel like we can be a top-20 team consistently with the top-25 finishes last year and that’s our goal this year.”
There will also be experience on the pit box in the form of Jay Guy. Guy has been crew chiefing in NASCAR since 1998 and most recently worked with David Ragan at Front Row Motorsports. Guy has also spent time with Wood Brothers Racing, Team Penske and Furniture Row Racing.
With experience and ability to pull more resources, perhaps this is the perfect thing that Annett needs to find the success that he missed last year.
