JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Atlanta Motor Speedway
RACE: EchoPark 250 (163 laps / 251.02 miles)
DATE: Saturday, March 20, 2021
Broadcast Information – TV: 5 p.m. ET on FS1 / Radio: 4:30 p.m. ET on PRN and Sirius XM Ch. 90
Michael Annett
No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet
• In last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Michael Annett started 21st and drove to an 11th-place finish, leading three laps in the process.
• On 1.5-mile tracks in 2020, Annett averaged an eighthplace finish over 12 events, with a pair of fifth-place runs at Kentucky and Texas tops among them. Annett finished 10 of the 12 races inside the top 10.
• At Atlanta, Annett has been consistent, completing 99.3 percent of the laps in his nine starts.
• Annett’s best finish of the season, sixth, came at the 1.5- mile Homestead-Miami Speedway last month.
Josh Berry
No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet
• Josh Berry will make his first NXS start at Atlanta on Saturday afternoon.
• In two 1.5-mile starts in the NXS in 2021, Berry has scored two top 10s, with a best finish of seventh coming at Las Vegas.
• In seven starts on tracks between 1 and 2 miles in length in the NXS, Berry has earned two top 10s, both coming earlier this season at Homestead and Las Vegas.
• This weekend in Atlanta marks the first race for primary partner Tire Pros, the nation’s largest franchise network of independent tire dealers, on board the No. 8 Chevrolet for JRM.
Noah Gragson
No. 9 Bass Pro Shops / TrueTimber / Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet
• Noah Gragson has two starts in the NXS at Atlanta with a best finish of second coming in this race last season.
• In Gragson’s two starts in the Camping World Truck Series at the 1.5-mile quad-oval, he also has a best finish of second, coming during the 2018 campaign.
• Gragson’s second-place finish last season at Atlanta also netted the driver the $100k Dash 4 Cash payday.
• At tracks that are between 1 and 2 miles in length, Gragson has an average finish of 10.6 and has paced the field for 542 laps.
Justin Allgaier
No. 7 Axalta EchoPark Chevrolet
• Justin Allgaier has finished sixth or better in his past three NXS starts at Atlanta, including a third-place effort in 2019. In 10 NXS starts on the 1.54-mile track, he has six top 10s.
• Last season on tracks measuring 1.5-miles in length, the veteran driver earned four top-five and eight top-10 finishes, and won three stages.
• After a tough start to 2021, last weekend Allgaier and the No. 7 team pulled together their first top 10 of the season at Phoenix Raceway.
• This weekend Allgaier has some new colors on his No. 7 Chevrolet, with Axalta and EchoPark on board for Atlanta.
Driver Quotes
“Getting back to Atlanta will be good for this Pilot Flying J team. We can’t be disappointed with our speed on the West Coast swing, but we need to put some solid finishes together and get back on track. After getting crashed out at Daytona, we were starting to earn those consistent finishes we need, and having the mechanical issue at Phoenix was unusual for us. A good solid run at Atlanta will set us up for the break and get us ready for the heart of the season.” – Michael Annett
“We were able to have a pretty good run last week at Phoenix and I think that will give us some positive momentum as we head to Atlanta this weekend with our Axalta/EchoPark Camaro. It’s been a bit of a tough start to the season, but it definitely hasn’t been for lack of effort. Jason (Burdett, crew chief) and this entire No. 7 team have been bringing fast cars each and every week. We want to continue to turn our luck around and get another solid finish. Atlanta has been a strong track for us, so I have no doubt we can go there and get it done.” – Justin Allgaier
“I feel like we’ve learned a lot through the first two mileand-a-half races this season and I am really looking forward to seeing how we can continue to build off of that this weekend in Atlanta. It’s going to be interesting for sure having never run there before, but I feel really confident in Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and all the guys on this JR Motorsports team that we will unload with a great car on Saturday. I’m definitely looking forward to getting there, especially with us having a new partner with Tire Pros on board this No. 8. Hopefully we can give them a great day.” – Josh Berry
“We ran second in Atlanta last season and I thought we had a car capable of winning but we ran out of laps at the end. I know this Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee team is working hard throughout the week to prepare a fast Camaro so hopefully we can celebrate in Victory Lane Saturday evening and have something go our way for once this season.” – Noah Gragson
JRM Team Updates
• JRM at Atlanta: JR Motorsports has collected three wins, 13 top-fives and 26 top-10 finishes, along with two pole awards (2009 and 2014) in 39 NXS starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jamie McMurray earned the organization its first victory at the track in 2010 and Kevin Harvick claimed back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015. JRM’s average finish of 9.1 at Atlanta is the team’s second-best among all tracks in the NXS.
• Axalta “ElectroLight.“: ElectroLight is an expressively refreshing green-yellow hue with inspired bold, contemporary flavors that echo style, energy and flair. The unique personality of ElectroLight evokes a blend of sporty design elements with functional performance and offers great versatility when combined with two-tone charcoal color accents or matte finishes on a variety of mobility solutions. Further, ElectroLight is formulated with reflective properties that make it highly visible to light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems, while its layer structure and pigment content are easily transmissible by radio detection and ranging (radar) systems. Visit axalta.com/color for more information.
• Positive Beauty : Unilever announced it will eliminate the word ‘normal’ from all beauty and personal care brands’ packaging and advertising, as part of the launch of their new Positive Beauty vision and strategy. Positive Beauty, which sets out several progressive commitments and actions for their beauty and personal care brands, including Dove and Axe will champion a new era of beauty which is equitable and inclusive, as well as sustainable for the planet. For more information, please visit www.unilever.com
