ANNETT EARNS ‘HARD CHARGER’ AND TOP-5 FINISH IN FIVE FLAGS DEBUT
Michelle Petroff, TMC Racing

WEST DES MOINES, IA (October 2, 2007) – Michael Annett concluded his 2007 ASALMS’ “Challenge Division” point season with an impressive debut performance at Pensacola’s Five Flags Speedway. The twenty-one year-old Iowa native piloted his No. 12 TMC Transportation Ford Fusion to a Top-5 finish during the 200-lap event at the historic Florida 1/2-mi venue.

Crew chief Rich Lushes and Annett worked to find a balance of a car capable of maintaining position on the short runs but that out-performed their competitors during long green flag conditions.

“The TMC Racing Team worked hard all weekend to get a car that would peak late in the race,” commented Annett. “We made adjustments during our practice session that made the car really comfortable on long runs so we knew we were going to be good in race trim even if we had to sacrifice a bit of speed during qualifying due to our gear selection.”

Annett still qualified a respectable thirteenth and maintained standing firmly in the Top-15 before he sustained some cosmetic damage to the car’s hood during an early race incident. That mishap would not slow the “Black & Chrome” #12 team in their charge towards the front as they steadily advanced into the Top-10 during the first half of the race before making adjustments in preparation for their final march to the front.

“We entered this race knowing that Pensacola is a track where tire wear is a key factor. I had a car that was capable of getting to the front but also had to conserve our equipment for the final bid,” the Hawkeye native added. “We made some adjustments to help the car rotate through the center and add forward bite off of the corners and it was a great call by my team. As other cars started to diminish, our car came to life so we could focus on racing the track and pick up positions one at a time. I can’t thank my crew enough for all of their hard work this season – we made a lot of strides. And none of this would have been possible without our amazing sponsors including TMC Transportation, Pilot Travel Centers, Allstate Peterbilt, Northland Oil, Benson International, Marmon Highway Technologies, Reliance Supply, Bell Helmets and Sparco.”

Annett’s strong advancement was rewarded not only with a fifth place finish in his final ASALMS’ point event of the 2007 “Challenge Division” season but also honors as the recipient of the “Hard Charger of the Race” award. The No. 12 TMC Transportation team will have a brief break in action before their final ASALMS’ race at the Music City Motorplex on November 3, 2007. However, Michael Annett will be behind the wheel of the #28 Pilot Travel Centers Toyota Camry fielded by Bill Davis Racing for this weekend’s ARCA RE/MAX Series’ “ARCA RE/MAX 250” at Talladega Superspeedway. This will be Annett’s first restrictor-plate race but if anything can be deduced from the recent test session, he will be one to watch as he was firmly planted atop the speed charts. The “ARCA RE/MAX 250” will be televised live on SPEED this Friday, October 5th, from 5-8 p.m. EDT.