JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW:
TRACK: Iowa Speedway
RACE: CircuitCity.com 250 (250 laps / 218.75 miles)
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 2019
Michael Annett
No. 1 TMC Transportation Chevrolet
• Michael Annett’s best NASCAR Xfinity Series finish at his home track in Iowa is fourth, coming in 2012.
• The Iowa native will have an Iowa company on his No. 1 Chevrolet this weekend, as TMC Transportation’s black and gold livery will be featured. TMC is based in nearby Des Moines.
• Following his third-place finish at Michigan, Annett is on a streak of four straight top-10 finishes dating back to Dover in May. His average finish over that span is 6.8.
• On tracks measuring 1 mile or less this season, Annett has earned three top-10 finishes in four starts and averages 9.8 per finish in those races.
Justin Allgaier
No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
• Justin Allgaier is the defending winner of the June NXS race at Iowa Speedway. Last season, the Illinois native led 182 laps on his way to the victory.
• In 14 NXS starts at the Iowa short track, Allgaier has one win, three top-five and 10 top-10 finishes with 449 laps led.
• This season on tracks measuring 1 mile or less, the 33-year old driver has paced the field for 225 laps and has two topthree finishes.
• Halfway into the regular season, Allgaier is currently fifth in the NXS point standings.
Zane Smith
No. 8 La Paz Cocktail Mix Chevrolet
• Zane Smith will get behind the wheel of JRM’s No. 8 Chevrolet for the fifth time in 2019 this weekend at Iowa.
• In his most recent NXS start for JRM at Dover, Smith started sixth and finished ninth. In four starts for the team this season, he has two top-10 finishes.
• Smith has two starts at the .875-mile oval in the ARCA Menards Series, with his highest finish of fourth coming in 2018.
• La Paz Cocktail Mix, out of Brea, Calif., is on board the No. 8 Chevrolet this weekend with Smith. This is La Paz’s first primary race with the No. 8 team.
Noah Gragson
No. 9 Switch Chevrolet
• Noah Gragson will make his first NXS start at Iowa this weekend.
• Gragson has earned one top five, two top 10s and one pole position in two previous starts in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Iowa, with a best finish of second coming in 2018.
• Gragson has also made three previous starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at Iowa, recording two top fives and three top 10s.
• Following last weekend’s second-place finish, Gragson remains eighth in the championship standings, 70 points ahead of the 12th and final cutoff position for the Playoffs.
Driver Quotes
“Iowa is when I start really bugging my teammate, Justin Allgaier. He really has taken to Iowa really well, and I spend a lot of time up in that lounge when we’re there. I think that getting into Turn 1 at Iowa, it’s probably one of the roughest tracks we go to. There’s a really big bump getting into Turn 1 that can really upset the car. You have to drive Iowa like a short track. You have to be aggressive, you have to have a car that can move around. You can run the bottom or two inches off the wall. It drives like a short track, you can be really aggressive and you have to take every inch when you can get it.”– Michael Annett
“Iowa is one of my favorite tracks we visit on the circuit. As an organization, we have a history of being fast there and we were fortunate enough to win this race last year, so that makes me excited to get back. This No. 7 team has been working hard preparing for this weekend and I have no doubt that we’re capable of getting this BRANDT Professional Agriculture Camaro back in Victory Lane there.”– Justin Allgaier
“I’m ready to jump back in this No. 8 La Paz Cocktail Mix Chevrolet this weekend at Iowa Speedway. The No. 8 team has had a lot of momentum on their side from the past few weeks, and I’m very grateful to be able to contribute to that. I have some experience at Iowa Speedway from racing in the ARCA Menards Series, and we ran Richmond earlier this season with really good results. So I know we are capable of getting to the front on Sunday.” – Zane Smith
“I really enjoy racing at Iowa Speedway. I had a couple good runs here in the Truck Series in the past, finishing second here last year, and we had some good speed earlier this year at Richmond, which is a track pretty similar to Iowa. But overall, we’ve had a lot of good momentum here lately and I can’t think of a better place than Iowa to keep that going. I’m looking forward to getting there and seeing what we can do.” – Noah Gragson
JRM Team Updates
JRM at Iowa: In 50 NXS starts at Iowa Speedway, JR Motorsports has earned three victories, 12 top fives and 28 top 10s. Brad Keselowski scored the organization’s first victory at the .875-mile oval in the inaugural event in 2009, with William Byron and Justin Allgaier going to Victory Lane in this event in 2017 and 2018.
• Allgaier, Annett Media Availability: JRM teammates Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett will be stopping by the media center at Iowa Speedway for media availability on Saturday, June 15, at 3 p.m. CST and 3:15 p.m. CST, respectively.
• NXS Autograph Session: JRM teammates Michael Annett, Justin Allgaier, Zane Smith and Noah Gragson will be participating in the NXS fan autograph session underneath the Turn 4 grandstands at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, June 16 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. CST.
• U.S. Cellular Sweepstakes: One grand prize winner will have the chance to wave the green flag for the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway and be an honorary pit crew member for JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier, who will pilot the U.S. Cellular Chevrolet Camaro SS in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, July 27. The sweepstakes, which runs through July 14, will also provide the grand prize winner and a guest an official pit crew shirt, a tour of the No. 7 team hauler, attend the driver’s meeting with Allgaier and crew chief Jason Burdett, plus sit atop the pit box for the race and more. To enter to win and to see the full sweepstakes details, click here.
