CIRCUIT GILES VILLENEUVE RACE PREVIEW
Michael Annett• No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang
Annett has three career starts in the Nationwide Series at the Montreal, Canada track
Annett enters this weekend’s event in sixth-place in the Nationwide point standings
Annett’s 11th-place finish last weekend marked his 13th finish of 11th or better this season
Michael Annett on Going to Montreal: “I always look forward to going to Montreal because it is different than any other track we go to on the circuit. We just came off a decent road course finish in Watkins Glen and we learned a lot throughout that race that we can apply to this weekend’s event. Montreal has it’s own set of new challenges that we don’t face anywhere else, and it is the final road course of the year. It’s going to be important that we come out of this weekend with another good finish so we can keep gaining on the points leader. The team has a lot of momentum right now, and we look forward to each time we show up to the racetrack. We know that we have the resources and equipment behind us to run well each and every week, and that adds to our confidence level. If we can stay on-track and keep the fenders on our Pilot Flying J machine, I think we’ll have a good shot at a top-10 finish on Saturday.”
Crew Chief Philippe Lopez’s Thoughts on Montreal: “I’ve never raced in Montreal before so this will be my first time going as a crew chief. We have some great notes from our teammates from last year that we plan to utilize this weekend. Marcos Ambrose took home the victory last year, so he really knows how to get around this road course. We talked to Marcos at the shop this week and he’s given us some pointers that will be helpful this weekend. Montreal is really tough on the brakes, so Michael will have to concentrate on taking care of his brakes the best that he can. We finished 11th last weekend in Watkins Glen and we learned some things about road course racing we hope to apply to the Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang this weekend. Our team has had a stellar past couple of months and we plan to take that momentum and convert it into another top-10 finish this weekend for Richard Petty Motorsports. Road courses always seem to be an unknown for us, they are a completely different animal than the typical ovals we are used to. I saw some improvement in Michael’s road course skills last weekend at ‘The Glen,’ and hopefully he can build off of that even more on Saturday.”
Chassis History: The No. 43 RPM NASCAR Nationwide Series team has prepared chassis No. 482 for the 74-lap race in Montreal. This Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang has not been run previously this season.
Notes: Annett has three NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Circuit Giles Villeneuve. His best finish (18th) came in both 2009 and 2011 and his best start started (28th) came in 2011 at the 2.7-mile road course. Annett heads to Montreal in the sixth position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings. The Iowa native has completed 214 of 227 laps attempted at the track.
Annett, a Waterloo Black Hawks alumnus has made a donation that boosted his former United States Hockey League team toward its fundraising finish line for travel to the 2012 Junior Club World Cup in Omsk, Russia. The current Hawks will try to become the first American team to win the Junior Club World Cup beginning Sunday in Omsk when the tournament opens with a game versus HC Energie Junior from Czech Republic. Annett was a Black Hawk for two seasons( 2003-2004 and 2004-2005), before hanging up his ice skates to peruse his dream of becoming a race car driver.
Can’t get enough of Annett? Michael will be on Crescent Street at the Ford Display in Montreal, Thursday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. for a 15 minute Q-and-A session and a 45 minute autograph session
Don’t miss out on your chance to meet Michael! Annett will participate in the NASCAR Nationwide Series autograph session on Friday from 1-2 p.m. The session is located in the Beer Garden area of the Fan Midway, next to the Casino.
Race Information
Track: Circuit Giles Villeneuve (Montreal, Canada)
Laps: 74 Laps/200.46 Miles
Track Size: 2.7-Miles
TV Information: 2 p.m. ET on ESPN
Radio Information: 2 p.m. ET on MRN
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