Race Weekend Central

Michael Annett Cleared to Race at Watkins Glen

Michael Annett is medically cleared to compete at Watkins Glen International after missing the last two NASCAR Xfinity Series events due to an injury, JR Motorsports announced Wednesday, Aug. 4.

He had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his leg and missed Atlanta Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Austin Dillon and Josh Berry subbed in the No. 1 Chevrolet in each event, respectively. Dillon finished 11th in the last-minute notice at Atlanta, while Berry earned an eighth place at Loudon.

“I can’t thank Dr. Beaver and Dr. Heisel and everyone at OrthoCarolina enough for all of their hard work to get me back in the car in just over three weeks,” Annett said in a team release. “The work that Dr. Beaver did during the surgery that allowed me to recover in such a short amount of time is amazing.

“I owe a lot to Austin [Dillon] and Josh [Berry] for filling in for me for those two races, but I cannot wait to be back at the track with my guys and set up a great run into the playoffs.”

Annett has one top five — a third at Road America — as well as eight top 10s so far this season. He sits 11th in the points standings. NASCAR gave him a waiver for the playoffs.

See also
Justin Allgaier Claims Pole for Watkins Glen Xfinity Race

In his Xfinity career, he has one win at Daytona International Speedway in 2019, along with 19 top fives and 93 top-10 finishes.

Annett is slated to start 18th Saturday.

Berry will be on site at WGI as a backup if needed.

The race is set to air on Aug. 7 at 4:30 p.m. ET on CNBC.

About the author

Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised as a motorsports fan and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.

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