Racing Update

11.04.2009

Michael Annett Races in Lone Star State after Clinching 10th in NNS Points

Contact: Maggie Martin, Rising Star Management Group, mmartin@risingstarmg.com

Fort Worth, Texas (November 4, 2009) With only three races left this season for the No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers team, Michael Annett will make his 33rd Nationwide Series start this season in Saturday's O'Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

Annett scored an 11th place finish in April's Nationwide Series O'Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, and hopes to top that finish with a Texas-size top-10 this weekend. With his driving style and Germain Racing's historically successful mile and a half program combined, the team's confidence level remains high.

"Mile and a half tracks have proved to be our specialty. Not only is Michael comfortable and fast on these tracks, but our mile and a half program gives him good backing on top of that," said Crew Chief Ryan Fugle.

Annett and the No. 15 team have a string of success at mile and a half tracks like Texas this season. In addition to the team's impressive 11th place finish at Texas in the spring, Annett has also tallied up strong finishes at Kentucky Speedway (seventh), Chicagoland Speedway (17th), Gateway International Raceway (seventh), Michigan International Speedway (13th), Atlanta Motor Speedway (14th) and most recently at Lowe's Motor Speedway (13th). The Raybestos Rookie contender has earned Rookie of the Race honors at two mile and a half tracks this season, Gateway and Atlanta, and brought home the Mobil 1 Performance Driver of the Race award at Atlanta as well.

Last week's 16th place finish at Memphis, where nine laps were led by Annett, locked him into 10th in points. Now sitting steady in that position, the rookie can only aim higher for the last three races at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.

Annett said, "Our goals as a team this season were to stay consistent with our finishes and reach the top-10 in points. We've stuck with those goals and are really proud of where we stand today. We've been working hard as a team to get into the top-10 in points, and now we've hit that mark with Memphis. We're very excited about this small victory, but are focused on working hard to finish these last three races strong and continue to gain valuable points."

Nationwide Series action hits the high-speed track at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday with practice at 10 a.m. Final practice kicks off at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN 2, and qualifying for the O'Reilly Challenge begins at 6:35 p.m. on SPEED. The green flag drops on race day at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday. Watch and listen live to the Nationwide Series O'Reilly Challenge at 12 p.m. on ESPN 2 and PRN Radio. All times are listed in EST.

For more information on Michael Annett, please visit www.michaelannett.com and www.germainracing.com.

For more information on Pilot Travel Centers, check out www.pilottravelcenters.com.