Monday

Promising Run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Turned Sour for No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers Team

Michael Annett - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR

“We had a really good car today and continued to demonstrate that our No. 15 Toyota Camry can compete in the top-10. Michael did a heck of a job driving it and the guys did an excellent job on pit road,” said crew chief Ryan Fugle, “We passed a lot of cars and gained valuable track position throughout the first half of the race. At times we were the fastest car on the track and a good finish was definitely in the making. It’s disappointing that our day had to come to an early end.”

Annett started the 200 lap race 23rd and quickly raced his way into the top-10 by lap 36. With a long green flag run, he raced his way up to seventh by lap 56.

The start to the team’s bad luck began when the car had a problem with the ignition box just before the halfway mark. Continuing on with more trouble, drive train issues plagued the team and moved the car to the garage to diagnose and repair the problem. Without success, the Germain Racing team was done for the day. The No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers Toyota Camry was out of the race when the motor blew ending the day for the hard working Germain Racing team.

A disappointed Annett commented, “We unloaded really well and were working towards a solid finish this weekend. We definitely had a top-five car. We thought our worst enemy would be the forecasted rainy weather, but it turned out that we were faced with mechanical issues. With two weeks off before our next race, we’ll regroup and get geared up for short track racing at Bristol.”

The No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers Toyota Camry will have two weekends free of competition before the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ next appearance at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 20. Just around the corner from Pilot Travel Centers headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee, the NASCAR Nationwide Series Scotts Turf Builder 300 at Bristol airs live on ABC at 2 p.m. ET on March 20.

For more information on Michael Annett, check out www.MichaelAnnett.com and www.GermainRacing.com. Get live updates on Twitter @MichaelAnnett.

For more information on Pilot Travel Centers, please visit www.pilottravelcenters.com.

- Rising Star Management Group for Germainn Racing, Press Release