Annett puts hockey desire on ice to race and chase

Michael Annett wanted to drive racecars for as long as he could remember, but his teenage years were spent playing ice hockey. Annett was good at it, too, playing for the Waterloo (Iowa) Black Hawks in the United States Hockey League, the top under-20 league in the nation.

The USHL regularly churns out college and professional players, and Annett was a prospect for both. But following the 2004-05 season, Annett asked his father, Harold, to help him get started at age 18 in racing. Harold rang up Chris Santucci, who had been crew chief of his World of Outlaws Sprint Car team in the late 1980s and early '90s, and arranged a test in a USAC Silver Crown car at Memphis Motorsports Park.

"Memphis was the first place I ever drove a racecar," Annett said. "The whole point of the test was my dad wanted to see if I had any talent."

• Nationwide Series tickets

Annett passed, and a racing career began. Now a rookie in the Nationwide Series, he'll be back at Memphis in Saturday's Kroger 250, driving for Germain Racing.

Annett, 23, is a season-high 11th in the standings, seven points behind 10th-place Michael McDowell. Annett has four top 10s in 31 starts including a high of sixth at Auto Club Speedway in California two races ago. He didn't get his first top 10, a seventh at Kentucky, until the 14th race.

"It definitely was a struggle at the beginning of the year, getting used to the cars," Annett said. "It took me a little bit to learn what I needed out of practice for the races. This summer, we got on a roll and started figuring out what the cars need and making a lot of progress.

"I've gained a lot of confidence, and a little extra confidence makes a better difference than a change in the car. Each week we're bringing fast cars. We're hoping to get into the top 10 in the points this year and go for a championship next year."

Harold Annett campaigned Sammy Swindell in the World of Outlaws and for a partial season in 1993 in the Nationwide Series.

"When I was growing up with my dad's team at the racetrack, I always thought when I got older, I'd be racing," Annett said. "The older I got, it was something that I wanted more and more to do. But my dad got burned out on racing and got out of racing in 1993. He didn't attend another race until I started."

Santucci had become the crew chief of the Memphis-based Silver Crown team owned by Carl Edwards and Roger Johnson. Annett has driven in the Silver Crown series in several races but focused on Late Models in the Midwest starting in 2006.

Annett won the ARCA race at Talladega in 2007 and at Daytona in 2008 with Bill Davis Racing. He made eight starts in the Camping World Truck Series last year with Davis, finishing sixth in his debut at Milwaukee and second at Kentucky in his third start. Annett also was 11th at Memphis.

"Everyone who ran me thought I was ready for Nationwide," Annett said. "You get to race with the Cup guys, and that sets a high bar. [Sponsor] Pilot wanted to get into Nationwide. I think it's been a good decision for everyone involved. It's progressed my learning curve pretty quickly."

Annett will be back with Germain's Nationwide team next season.

"We signed a two-year contract when we came here, and we're happy we did," Annett said. "We liked what Germain had to offer. It had a Sprint Cup team and a truck team, and we were adding a Nationwide team. We won Toyota's first race in the ARCA series, and Germain is a Toyota team. It was a good fit for us."