Page 200 - 2019_NPPG_digital copy

MICHAEL ANNETT

Birth Date: June 23, 1986 Hometown: Des Moines, IA
Birth Date: August 12, 1993 Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Team: No. 5 Chevy Camaro SS / JR Motorsports
Team: No. 16 Toyota Tundra/Roush Fenway Racing

Michael Annett clearly wasn’t happy about his team’s performance in 2018,
but the people who mattered most – car owners Dale Earnhardt and Kelley
Earnhardt Miller – never lost faith and rewarded him with a new contract
to stay at JR Motorsports.

The 32-year-old driver will come back to a team that
combined for seven wins and the NASCAR Xfinity Series
championship with Tyler Reddick. He will have a new
number – 1 – and a familiar sponsorship – Pilot Flying
J – on his Chevy Camaro SS.
FEATURED DRIVERS “I have tremendous support with the No. [1] team,

my teammates and the entire staff over there,”
Annett said. “It’s very much a family atmosphere
and they have everything it takes to be
successful at this level.”

While Annett is still looking for his first
NASCAR victory, he has shown flashes of
improvement. As a full-time driver he finished in
the top 10 in points four times – in 2009, 2011,
2012 and 2017.

By comparison, 2018 was a letdown.

He only had three top-10 finishes. Oddly enough,
two came at two of the toughest racetracks – Bristol
(seventh place) and Darlington (10). A ninth-place finish at
the season-finale at the Homestead-Miami Speedway could
be the catalyst the entire team needs to get a running start for
2019.

The fact JR Motorsports has won the Xfinity championship in three
of the past five years only added to Annett’s frustration.

“It’s encouraging and frustrating,” Annett said of comparing his
finishes to his teammates. “We wanted to start at Daytona right

200 THE OFFICIAL NASCAR 2019 PREVIEW & PRESS GUIDE