The Headlines:
Previous Race Recap: In the No. 62 Pilot Flying J team’s last race, driver Michael Annett earned the Mobil 1 Driver of the Race award for his sixth place finish on the home track of his Knoxville, Tennessee-based sponsor. Annett’s sixth place finish in Bristol Motor Speedway’s Food City 250 was his sixth top-10 finish of the 2011 season tallying the Rusty Wallace Racing’s organization’s 12th top-10 this year. Annett remains 10th in the Nationwide Series championship point standings, only five points behind ninth place Brian Scott.
Michael Annett at Atlanta: Saturday’s Great Clips 300 will be Annett’s third career Nationwide Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 1.54 mile quad-oval. The 25-year-old driver’s best finish on the Hampton, Georgia track was during his rookie season in NASCAR’s second tiered series. Annett secured a 14th place Rookie of the Race finish and earned the Mobil 1 Driver of the Race award in 2009 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
RWR Stats at AMS: The Mooresville, North Carolina-based Rusty Wallace Racing organization claims two top-10’s in 11 career starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Annett Tees Up for Charity: Annett will join friend and fellow Nationwide Series competitor Reed Sorenson on Thursday, September 1, by participating in the Reed Sorenson Charity Golf Classic at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Hampton, Georgia. All proceeds from Thursday’s race-related golf tournament benefit Speedway Children’s Charities.
Nationwide Offers Code Spotter Contest: Nationwide Insurance is giving a lucky fan the chance to win a VIP prize of spending the day with the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. Enter to win at www.codespotter.com, and type in Michael Annett’s code “ANNETT”. Fans can enter once per day through midnight on September 5 to win Nationwide’s exclusive NASCAR Champion VIP Experience.
Cast Your Vote: Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver voting has returned for the fourth consecutive year in 2011 and is underway on NASCAR.com. Fans can cast their vote for Michael Annett once per day by visiting www.NASCAR.com/nnsmpd. Voting runs from now until November 17. The winner of the Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver award will be announced at the year-end banquet on November 21.
For the latest updates on Michael Annett, visit www.michaelannett.com.
From the Cockpit:
Michael Annett on the No. 62 team’s progress:
“Last week’s strong run was a testament to how much hard work and effort this No. 62 Pilot Flying J team puts forward. We’re really excited about finishing sixth on Pilot Flying J’s home track, Bristol, last week, and we’re looking forward to giving them another top notch performance this weekend at Atlanta. We’ve definitely got the momentum we need heading into this last stretch of races.”
Talking Shop:
Crew chief Rick Viers heading into Atlanta:
“We’ve got a great group of guys assembled for our No. 62 program, and we’ve got some good momentum going leading us into our last nine races of the season. We have been working really hard on our mile-and-a-half setups, and we feel that our cars are getting better and better every week. We’re looking forward to getting to Atlanta this weekend and bringing home another solid finish for Rusty Wallace Racing and Pilot Flying J.”
The Machines:
Team 62 Primary: RWR-063 – The No. 62 Pilot Flying J team’s only outing with this chassis was at Iowa Speedway in August where Annett finished 12th.
Team 62 Back-Up: RWR-051 – The No. 62 Pilot Flying J team’s last race competing with this chassis was at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.
Pilot Flying J Locations on Your Way:
Pilot Flying J provides 32 Pilot Travel Centers and Flying J locations throughout the state of Georgia. Seven of these locations are conveniently positioned within a 50 mile radius of Atlanta Motor Speedway. For more information on Pilot Flying J and to map their nearest locations along your route, please visit www.pilotflyingj.com.
Flying J
I-75 Exit 201
I-75 & Exit 66 Bucksnort Rd.
Jackson, GA 30233
Pilot Travel Center
I-285 Exit 51
2605 Bouldercrest
Atlanta, GA 30316
Pilot Travel Center
I-85 Exit 41
1645 South Highway 29
Newnan, GA 30263
Pilot Travel Center
I-285 Exit 16
4600 South Atlanta Rd.
Smyrna, GA 30080
Pilot Travel Center
I-20 Exit 114
1881 Eatonton Rd.
Madison, GA 30650
Flying J
I-20 & Hwy 113 Exit 19
15 Villa Rosa Rd.
Temple, GA 30179
Pilot Travel Center
I-20 Exit 19
625 Carrollton St.
Temple, GA 30179
About Pilot Flying J:
Pilot Flying J is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has more than 550 locations in North America. The company employs more than 20,000 people and is the largest retail operator of travel centers in North America. Follow Pilot Flying J on Twitter at @pilottravel.
Broadcast Info:
Final Practice
Saturday, September 3, 11:30 a.m. ET
SPEED
Qualifying
Saturday, September 3, 3:30 p.m. ET
SPEED
Great Clips 300
Saturday, September 3, 7:30 p.m. ET
ESPN 2
