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Race: Drive Smart Buckle Up Kentucky 150

Track: Kentucky Speedway

Date: May 10, 2008

Started: Fourth

Finished: Ninth

Laps Completed/Total Laps: 112/112

For the first time in his young career, Michael Annett and his No. 28 Pilot Travel Centers Toyota Camry team headed to Kentucky Speedway this weekend. Annett has an average finish of 4.16 on tracks on which he has never raced, and the rookie looked forward to racing on the 1.5 mile track.

Annett and his team quickly got their Pilot Travel Centers Toyota up to par Saturday morning during practice. After running a 30.368 second lap, Annett finished second on the speed chart for the lone practice session of the day.

Annett qualified midway through time trials that afternoon and made a lap of 30.485 seconds. The lap placed him fourth on the starting grid for that night’s race.

As Annett’s fifth race of the year began under the lights of the Kentucky Speedway, he immediately vaulted his way to the front of the 41-car field. He took the lead on lap eight and maintained an incredibly fast pace throughout the next 31 laps until he had to come to pit road. The Bill Davis Racing rookie liked the way the car was handling, so the crew made no adjustments during the four tire stop.

After Annett returned to the racetrack, the handling of his Camry soon became a bit tight. Annett buckled down, and by lap 81, he was once again fighting for the lead. His charge to the lead was halted briefly when the eighth caution of the night turned into a 20-minute red flag condition.

The race restarted on lap 102, and Annett soon realized he had a right front tire going down. But before he could even talk on the radio, the No. 01 car of Sean Caisse ran into the back of the Pilot Camry and sent Annett spinning down the front stretch. Annett remained calm and controlled his Camry well during the incident, but he had to pit for four fresh tires.

With the race already going over the 100 scheduled laps, Annett remained focused and knew he would have to muster all he could out of the next few laps. He returned to the track in the 17th position and had six laps to get a top-10 finish. Six laps later, Annett crossed the finish line in ninth position. It was his eighth career ARCA RE/MAX Series top-10 finish in nine starts.