Saturday night’s Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway was the last of 34 races on the 2011 circuit. With new partner Combos onboard with Pilot Flying J, Annett headed into the 200 lap event eighth in the championship point race with just six markers separating him from ninth place Brian Scott. After securing a 15th place start, Annett’s goal for the night was to stay ahead of Scott to finish out the season as the eighth place driver in points.
The No. 62 Rusty Wallace Racing pit crew made their first stop of the day under a competition caution on lap 36. Gaining three spots on pit road, Annett was placed in 11th for the restart on lap 39.
Struggling with a loose-to-tight handling racecar, Annett fought lap after lap for top-10 track position. As other cars began to pit around lap 90, crew chief Rick Viers had the No. 62 car stay out for a few more laps. The yellow flag came out on lap 92 and Annett was positioned third on the leaderboard. In for another four-tire stop, he restarted eighth on lap 97.
The caution was back out on lap 130. In order to gain an extra point, Viers kept Annett out on the track to lead lap 134. On lap 135, the No. 62 Pilot Flying J/Combos crew changed four tires, refueled and made a wedge adjustment to their Camry. Annett’s Toyota was back out on the track in 17th for the restart.
The field ran nine laps under green before the track returned to yellow flag conditions. While most cars pitted, Annett stayed out and restarted second with 47 laps to go. The caution was back out on lap 174, and 10th place Annett reported that although he was battling cars with four fresh tires, his last run was the most consistent that the car had been all night. Back in for four Goodyears and fuel, he restarted 11th with 21 laps remaining.
On lap 188, the No. 09 car spun across the track and caught the right front corner of the No. 62 Pilot Flying J/Combos Camry bringing out the last of nine cautions. Before the yellow, Annett was in position to hold onto his eighth place points position. He battled out the final laps with a damaged splitter and a right front tire going down, leaving a strong night to end with a disappointing 19th place finish that knocked him back to ninth in the standings, a mere three points behind eighth place Scott.
For the latest updates on Michael Annett, please visit www.michaelannett.com.
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.
About Mars, Incorporated:
Mars, Incorporated is a private, family-owned company founded in 1911 and employs 70,000 associates at 250 sites, including 151 factories, in 67 countries worldwide. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, U.S.A., Mars, Incorporated is one of the world’s largest food companies, generating global revenues of more than $30 billion annually and operating in six business segments: Chocolate, Petcare, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, and Symbioscience. These segments produce some of the world’s leading brands: Chocolate – M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Petcare – PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, SHEBA®, CESAR® and ROYAL CANIN®; Wrigley – ORBIT®, EXTRA®, STARBURST®, DOUBLEMINT® and SKITTLES®; Food – UNCLE BEN’S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS® and SEEDS OF CHANGE®; Drinks – KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience – WISDOM PANEL™, SERAMIS®, and COCOAPRO™. For more information, please visit www.mars.com.
- Rising Star Management Group Press Release
