Michael Annett Homestead News and Notes
Notes and Quotes:
Michael Annett up Two Spots in Points Race: Last week’s top-10 finish moved driver Michael Annett from 10th to eighth in the Nationwide Series championship point standings. He heads into the 2011 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway six points ahead of ninth place Brian Scott and seven points ahead of his teammate Steve Wallace who sits in 10th. Annett’s 10th place finish at Phoenix tallied his seventh top-10 finish of the season and Rusty Wallace Racing’s 13th top-10 finish in 2011.
Combos and Pilot Flying J Partner for Homestead: Mars Inc. brand Combos will join Pilot Flying J on Annett’s No. 62 car this weekend for the last Nationwide Series race of the season. The No. 62 car will feature a bag of combos on the rear quarter panel with the treats spilling out across the back of the car. The featured flavor of these stuffed pretzel snacks is buffalo blue cheese. In conjunction with the Pilot Flying J and Combos partnership for the Homestead race, Pilot Travel Centers and Flying J locations are offering a two for $4 promotion on assorted flavors of Combos through the end of November.
Racing to Save Lives: Annett will continue his support of his choice charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, by again sporting their logo and website on his No. 62 Pilot Flying J/Combos Toyota Camry at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This weekend the logo will run in honor of nine-year-old St. Jude patient Lucas Solberg. Lucas’ family’s first sign that he had a problem was when the Miami, Florida child suffered from stomach problems. In a visit to a local emergency room, doctors ran tests and found Lucas to be affected by rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive soft tissue tumor that can arise virtually anywhere in the body. Lucas underwent chemotherapy and surgery to remove the bulk of the tumor in Miami, and the Solberg family decided on St. Jude after the surgery for radiation and chemotherapy treatment. He finished his treatment in May 2004 and now visits St. Jude for regular checkups.
Rusty Wallace Racing at Homestead: In 10 combined NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Rusty Wallace Racing entries have earned one top-five and three top-10 finishes. The organization’s best finish on the 1.5 mile oval was driver Jamie McMurray’s second-place run in November 2004. Rusty Wallace Racing entries have completed 1,963 of the 2,003 (98 percent) laps contested in those events.
Laura Palenkas, Vice President of Marketing, Pilot Flying J, on the Combos and Pilot Flying J partnership for Homestead:
“Mars Inc. is already one of our great retail partners, and this is the first time we have partnered with an in-store brand on our race car. Since Combos is one of the most popular snack foods at our Pilot Flying J travel centers, it’s a natural tie and we are thrilled to have them on board. This partnership called for more than just a logo decal. We worked hard to make Combos a part of our look and give Mars Inc. great on-track exposure. I think everyone is pleased. We think Michael Annett and our new Mars partnership is a winning combo. It is a great way to finish the year and get a jump start on our planning for next season.”
Michael Annett on the Combos/Pilot Flying J partnership:
“We’re very excited to co-brand our Camry with Combos and Pilot Flying J this weekend at Homestead. It’s great to see such a well-respected brand team with Pilot Flying J on our racecar. We’re very excited to add Mars Inc. and Combos to our list of 2011 partners, and hope to carry this relationship into the 2012 Nationwide Series season. My main goal this weekend is to hold onto eighth in the points race and give Combos, Pilot Flying J and Rusty Wallace Racing the strong finish they deserve.”
Crew chief Rick Viers on the 2011 season coming to a close:
“Every member of the team has worked extremely hard this season and we’re well prepared for our final race in Homestead. Michael is a smart driver and I can’t even begin to express how proud I am of him and each of the guys who work on this car week in and week out. Our engineer, Jason Stockert, has been a huge asset to the team and Ryan McKinney, Brian Gainey, Dan Vincent, Dennis O’Connor and all of our guys back at the shop have given a great deal of effort into building a strong No. 62 team. I thank each one of those guys for all of their hard work and support this year. Michael’s holding onto eighth in driver points with a small gap between ninth and 10th. In the last 21 races, we’ve moved up five spots in the owner points race, more than any other team has in the owners standings. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished and we’re looking forward to showing our strength again this weekend in Homestead.”
The Machines:
Team 62 Primary: RWR-059 – RWR’s No. 62 team most recently raced car 059 at Texas Motor Speedway. The team has also competed in this car at Iowa Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway in 2011.
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 21 Pilot Travel Centers and Flying J locations along the highways throughout Florida. Seven of these locations are conveniently positioned within a 200 mile radius of Homestead-Miami Speedway. For more information on Pilot Flying J and to map their nearest locations along your route, please visit www.pilotflyingj.com.
Pilot Travel Center
US 41 and SR 997
17696 SW 8th St.
Miami, FL 33194
Pilot Travel Center
Hwy 27 N
12200 NW South River Dr.
Medley, FL 33178
Pilot Travel Center
I-75 Exit 139 Luckett Rd.
6050 Plaza Dr.
Fort Myers, FL 33905
Pilot Travel Center
I-95 Exit 129
7300 West Okeechobee Rd.
Fort Pierce, FL 34945
Flying J
I-95 Hwy 68 Exit 131
100 North Kings Hwy.
Fort Pierce, FL 34945
Pilot Travel Center
I-75 Exit 161
26505 Jones Loop Rd.
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Pilot Travel Center
FL Turnpike Exit 193
3051 State Road 60
Okeechobee, FL 34972
About Pilot Flying J:
Pilot Flying J is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has more than 550 retail locations across North America. Pilot Flying J is also one of the Nation’s largest wholesale fuel providers, delivering over 500 million gallons of fuel to thousands of customers in 47 states and eight Canadian provinces. The company employs approximately 20,000 people and is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America.
Broadcast Info:
Final Practice
Friday, November 18, 12:30 p.m. ET
ESPN2
Qualifying
Saturday, November 19, 1 p.m. ET
SPEED
Ford 300
Saturday, November 19, 4:30 p.m. ET
ESPN2
