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[/media-credit]BASHAS’ SUPERMARKETS 200 RACE REPORT
Michael Annett
No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang
Michael Annett started the 200-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Phoenix International Raceway from the 21st position. Annett finished the second event of the season as follows:
10th—Michael Annett, No.43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang
· Saturday marked Annett’s first top-ten finish with Richard Petty Motorsports
· Annett ran in the top-15 for the majority of the 200-mile event and was scored as high as ninth place in the final 20 laps of the race
· With just 15-laps remaining in the 200-lap event Annett was running lap times as fast as the leader
· The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports crew made a myriad of adjustments throughout the race and after each pit stop the Pilot Flying J car’s handling improved
· Elliott Sadler claimed the victory Saturday afternoon in a race that saw three caution flags wave for a total of 15 laps
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the highest finishing (third)Ford Mustang at Phoenix
· Unofficially, Annett sits in eighth place in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings heading into Las Vegas next weekend
Annett’s Thoughts After the Race: “It was a very hard earned 10th place finish, I will tell you that. Starting back in 21st, everyone knows that Phoenix is a tough place to pass and it seemed like the first five laps of the restarts were where you were going to run until the next restart. We just kept making changes, really good changes, making it better and better but nothing that really woke it up. The last stop there we took two left side tires and it really woke the car up and we were able to drive up there in the end and gain five spots in that last green flag run to bring home a top-10, so I am pretty happy.”
Next up in NASCAR Nationwide Series action is the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 10, at 5 p.m. ET. The event will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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