Former NASCAR driver Michael Annett has died. He was 39 years old.
JR Motorsports announced Annett’s passing in a social media post Friday evening. Annett drove for the team in the Xfinity Series for five seasons from 2017 to 2021.
Annett has made more than 100 starts in NASCAR’s Cup Series and more than 300 starts in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series. Annett’s only Xfinity Series victory came in 2019, when he won the season-opening race at Daytona. He went on to finish in the top five five more times and finished ninth in the points standings that season.
Advertisement
His best season in the Xfinity Series came in 2012 when he drove for Richard Petty Motorsports. Annett had six top-five and 17 top-10 finishes and finished fifth in the points standings.
At JR Motorsports, he never finished outside the top 15 in the points standings.
Annett competed in 106 Cup Series races during the 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons. He drove for the underfunded Tommy Baldwin Racing and HScott Racing teams during his time at the highest level of NASCAR and had only six top-20 finishes during his Cup Series career. His best finish came in 2015 when he finished 13th at the Daytona 500.
Annett retired following the 2021 season after suffering a stress fracture in his right leg for much of the season. He missed seven races that year. He also missed races during the 2013 season after suffering a broken and dislocated sternum in a crash at Daytona when his car slammed head-on into the wall.
