Nascar in mourning, Michael Annett dead at 39

Nascar in mourning: Michael Annett has died. The driver, a career O’Reilly Auto Parts (formerly Xfinity) winner, passed away at age 39 for reasons that have not yet been disclosed.

Annett raced full-time in the Cup Series from 2014 to 2016, running 106 races and finishing 13th in the 2015 Daytona 500 as his best result. He raced for Tommy Baldwin and later for Harry Scott in his NASCAR Cup career. He never finished higher than 33rd overall in the Cup standings, but he also competed in 321 NOAPS races between 2008 and 2021, including several seasons as a driver for JR Motorsports.

Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, his only victory as a NASCAR driver came with the team co-managed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., imposing himself in the 2019 season opener at Daytona with teammate Justin Allgaier right behind him.

“Our prayers and thoughts go out to the entire Annett family on the passing of our friend Michael Annett – said JR Motorsports in a statement. “Michael was a key member of JRM from 2017 until his retirement in 2021 and was an important part of the growth that led us to become the four-car organization we still are”.