JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Auto Club Speedway
RACE: Production Alliance Group 300 (150 laps / 300 miles)
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 2019
Michael Annett
No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet
• Michael Annett’s best finish at Auto Club Speedway in his eight NXS starts there is sixth (2009).
• The No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet driver is coming off his third top-10 finish in four races after an eighth-place run at ISM Raceway last weekend.
• Annett has always been around at the finish on one of the series’ fastest tracks. In eight Xfinity starts, he’s completed all but two laps in the races he’s run there, good for 99.8 percent.
• Annett’s success so far this season shows in his average finishes. After four races, Annett’s average finish is 6.5, and he’s risen to fourth in series points heading to Auto Club.
Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
• Justin Allgaier raced to a runner-up finish at Auto Club last year, his best effort at the 2-mile facility. In 10 NXS starts at the track, he’s posted one top five and five top 10s.
• Over his three previous seasons with JRM, Allgaier has earned an average finish of 9.0 on tracks measuring 2 miles in length and has the most top 10s (five) among full-time NXS drivers during that span on those tracks.
• The Illinois native is looking to rebound this weekend after having run into bad luck during the final stage in the first two races of the West Coast swing. Allgaier was on his way to top-five finishes in those two events before trouble plagued the No. 7 team.
Ryan Preece
No. 8 Velveeta Chevrolet
• Ryan Preece, who brought home a seventh-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this season with JRM, will be returning to the No. 8 team this weekend.
• The Connecticut native has made two previous NXS starts at Fontana, bringing home a best finish of ninth in 2018.
• Preece will drive the same chassis this weekend that he did at Atlanta, where it finished within the top 10 in all three stages of the event.
• Velveeta, featuring Shells and Cheese, will decorate Preece’s Camaro at Auto Club. Saturday’s event marks the paint scheme’s only race this season.
Noah Gragson
No. 9 Switch Chevrolet
• Noah Gragson will make his first career NXS start in Fontana this weekend.
• In two starts at tracks 2 miles or greater in the NXS, Gragson has earned a best finish of fourth in April 2018 at Talladega Superspeedway.
• In seven previous starts in the Truck Series on speedways 2 miles or greater in length, Gragson has earned one top five and two top 10s with a best finish of fourth coming in August 2018 at Michigan International Speedway.
• The Las Vegas native improved two positions in the NXS point standings following last weekend’s event at Phoenix. Gragson now sits eighth, just 39 markers behind first.
Driver Quotes
“Our performances this year just shows how well that the team, Travis (Mack, crew chief) and I have come together this season. We’re finishing races, earning stage points and competing for top-five finishes every time out, and that’s a great testament to all the hard work the guys have put in on our No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet. I’m eager to get to Auto Club Speedway and see what we can do this weekend.” – Michael Annett
“I like going out to California. It’s just a different atmosphere than most of the places where we race. You never know who is going to show up and the fans out there are really cool. Plus, Auto Club is just a fun track to race on. The groove moves a lot throughout the course of the race and the track is big and fast and it has a lot of character. That makes it a challenge from a driver standpoint as well as from a setup standpoint, making sure the car is at 100 percent. I know the guys on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team have been working hard and we ran really well there last year, so I’m looking forward to getting out there.” – Justin Allgaier
“I’m really excited to get to Auto Club Speedway and have the opportunity to drive the No. 8 Velveeta Chevrolet. Auto Club Speedway is such a unique racetrack in how wide it is and how the tire fall off is with the older racing surface. There are going to be guys running the top and running the bottom and everywhere in between. I only have a handful of starts there in the Xfinity Series, but I’m so grateful to the entire JR Motorsports organization for the opportunity to be able to run the No. 8 and score a top finish.” – Ryan Preece
“I’m really looking forward to heading out to Fontana this weekend with our Switch Chevrolet. It’s a fast and wide track with a ton of room to race around. Dave (Elenz, crew chief) and this No. 9 team ran really well here last season and I am confident that we can unload with that same speed this year and have a similar result on Saturday. I’m ready for the challenge.” – Noah Gragson
JRM Team Updates
• JRM at Fontana: JR Motorsports has claimed one win, nine top fives and 22 top 10s in its 37 NXS starts at Auto Club Speedway.
The organization’s solo victory at the track came in 2015 when Kevin Harvick led 100 of the 150 laps and drove the team’s No.
88 Chevrolet to Victory Lane. Last season at Fontana, JRM had two cars finish within the top three.
• Allgaier, Gragson NXS Autograph Session: Teammates Justin Allgaier and Noah Gragson will be participating in the NXS
autograph session in the Auto Club Speedway Fan Zone on Friday, March 15 from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. PT.
• TMC Transportation Drivers Participate in West Coast Swing The past two races on the West Coast featured six truck drivers
from JRM partner TMC Transportation helping drive the team transporters cross-country back to the shop. The TMC drivers
played an important role in allowing
