JR Motorsports, who fielded entries for Annett between 2017 and 2021, also posted on social media sharing the team’s condolences.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Annett family with the passing of our friend Michael Annett,” reads JR Motorsports’ post. “Michael was a key member of JRM from 2017 until he retired in 2021 and was an important part in turning us into the four-car organization we remain today.”

Annett earned a victory in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2019 at Daytona International Speedway while driving for JR Motorsports. He recorded 19 top-five finishes and 95 top-10 finishes in 321 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts, finishing fifth in the series’ points in 2012.

Four days are down in the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports versus NASCAR antitrust lawsuit trial scheduled to last 10 days. NASCAR attorney Lawrence Buterman began cross-examining FRM owner Bob Jenkins on Wednesday, which continued into Thursday.

One of the main topics covered was FRM’s attempted sale of a charter/merger with 23XI in 2021. A September 4, 2021, email exchange between Jenkins and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin was brought up, in which Jenkins imposed a Friday afternoon deadline to Hamlin in negotiations of the transaction.

Why was this important? Well, you’d have to go back to Sept. 6, 2024. NASCAR reportedly handed the teams a “take-it-or-leave-it” Charter Agreement offer at 5 p.m. ET. Both 23XI and FRM were critical of NASCAR over the offer, and they were the only Cup Series teams not to sign the agreement. Two months later, they filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France, alleging monopolistic practices.

According to NASCAR reporter Toby Christie, Buterman questioned Jenkins why it was OK that he did the same thing he claims was bad when NASCAR did it three years later to him and other team owners. Jenkins responded that Hamlin was negotiating with other teams at the time about a charter. 23XI eventually acquired a charter from StarCom Racing for $13.5 million.

Jenkins then addressed the deadline. He said, per Christie, that he had to either renew with Ford for another season or risk losing manufacturer support and his existing alliance with Roush. He added he did what was best for his team and moved on from negotiations with Hamlin.

23XI, FRM vs. NASCAR lawsuit: Judge Bell levels warning of jury revolt

The cross-examination of Jenkins has concluded. The trial is moving forward, though not at a speed quick enough for Judge Kenneth Bell. At the conclusion Day 4 of the trial, Bell issued a warning to both sides. He wants both legal teams to make sure they are keeping arguments concise and direct.

Bell waited for the jury to leave the courtroom. Once they did, he told both sides that they needed to hurry up, because a third week of this trial is not going to work. The jury would be very upset at everybody in that case.

23XI and FRM are supposed to finish up their arguments by next Tuesday or Wednesday. Then, NASCAR will have the rest of the time to make its defense.

“Judge Bell has issued a warning to both sides to pick up the pace,” Christie reported. “The trial cannot drag to three weeks long, or the jury will revolt. He says both sides need to instruct their witnesses to just quickly answer hard questions instead of trying to deny obvious facts, and that exhibits need to stop beating horses past their death date.”

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this report.

(Gray News) – The motorsport world is mourning the death of former NASCAR driver Michael Annett.

JR Motorsports announced Annett’s death Friday evening.

Annett was 39 years old.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Annett family with the passing of our friend Michael Annett,” the company shared online.

He drove for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series for five seasons from 2017 to 2021.

“Michael was a key member of JRM … and was an important part in turning us into the four-car organization we remain today,” team members wrote.

According to NASCAR, the Des Moines, Iowa, native earned his career-best achievement in 2019, winning the series’ season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway in the No. 1 JRM Chevrolet.

Annett made his debut in the Xfinity Series in 2008 and spent three years at the sport’s top level in the NASCAR Cup Series with Turner Scott Motorsports from 2014 through 2016.

He finished his career with JRM in 2021 after a stress fracture in his leg sidelined him for parts of the season.

“NASCAR is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former NASCAR driver Michael Annett,” NASCAR said in a statement. “Michael was a respected competitor whose determination, professionalism, and positive spirit were felt by everyone in the garage.”

Annett’s cause of death was not immediately released.

Copyright 2025 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

The ARCA Menards Series West schedule has been announced, with 13 races set at 11 tracks spread across six states.

The ARCA Menards Series West calendar will expand from 12 races in 2025 to 13 in 2026, the most since 2019.

Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway will open the season and, for the first time since 2018, close the season, while the combination race with the ARCA Menards Series at Phoenix Raceway moves to a Thursday night slot the week after the opener.

“The ARCA Menards West Series continues with its established mix of high-profile major events in conjunction with the NASCAR National Series and NTT IndyCar Series, plus races at tradition-rich short tracks across the west region,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “Since 1954 the West Series has delivered quality stock car racing at some of the most well-known and respected venues and the 2026 schedule promises more of the same.”

The highlights:

• The ARCA Menards Series West will open and close at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, with the opener on February 28 and the finale on October 31. It marks the second consecutive year and fourth overall that the season will start at the half-mile oval in Bakersfield, California, and the third time the track has hosted the season finale.
• Short tracks continue to make up the bulk of the schedule, with Shasta Speedway returning after a year off, joining Tucson Speedway, Colorado National Speedway, Tri-City Raceway, All-American Speedway, Madera Speedway, and The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• Two road course races are again on the schedule, with the event at Sonoma Raceway joined by the annual stop at Portland International Raceway.
• Phoenix Raceway will host two races, with the first being the series’ only combination race with the ARCA Menards Series. Both the March race and the October race will be in conjunction with the NASCAR National Series.
• California will host six races, and Arizona is next with three. Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada will host one each.
• As has become tradition, several short track events will be supported by Ken Clapp’s West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame, including races at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, Shasta Speedway, Madera Raceway, All American Speedway, and The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• Races at Phoenix Raceway, Sonoma Raceway, and The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be in conjunction with the NASCAR national series; the race at Portland International Raceway will be held in conjunction with the NTT Data IndyCar Series, which also joins the March Phoenix weekend.
• All 12 stand-alone races will be streamed live on FloRacing; the combination race with the ARCA Menards Series at Phoenix Raceway will be televised live on FS1.

The complete 2026 ARCA Menards Series West schedule (all times are Pacific):

All dates are tentative and subject to change.

The ARCA Menards Series East schedule will be released in the coming days.

For further information please visit ARCARacing.com; for up-to-the-minute updates follow @ARCA_Racing on Twitter.

ARCA PR

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Michael Annett, a NASCAR series winner who drove for JR Motorsports for five seasons, has died at 39, the team announced Friday.

In a statement on their X account, JR Motorsports posted, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Annett family with the passing of our friend Michael Annett. Michael was a key member of JRM from 2017 until he retired in 2021 and was an important part in turning us into the four-car organization we remain today.”

Annett, a Des Moines, Iowa, native, made more than 300 O’Reilly Auto Parts, formerly Xfinity Series, starts and earned his lone series win in 2019 at Daytona International Speedway.

He retired from full-time competition after the 2021 season.

No additional details about his death were immediately released.

During the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs, it was announced that full-time JR Motorsports driver Carson Kvapil would be sharing the No. 1 Chevrolet with Connor Zilisch in 2026, rather than driving it for the entire season like he did in 2025.

Zilisch drove the team’s No. 88 Chevrolet full-time and won 10 races in 2025, but unlike Kvapil, he had already landed a full-time ride for 2026, as he is set to join Trackhouse Racing’s Cup Series team as Daniel Suarez’s replacement after serving as their development driver for the past two years.

So this announcement meant that Kvapil was effectively demoted, or so it initially seemed.

From that point forward, the 22-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina native went on somewhat of a surprise run to the Championship 4. While his first career win still eludes him after his first full season in the series, he proved he belongs and can compete for a championship.

Carson Kvapil back full-time with JR Motorsports after all

It was later announced that Kvapil, whose career-best finishes are second place finishes at Dover Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway after just over one year of experience in the series, would indeed be returning full-time to JR Motorsports in 2026.

The only difference from 2026 is that he’s not set to run the same car in every race, but he is still set to run all 33 races for the same team, something that seemed like it would no longer be the case following the September announcement of him splitting time with Zilisch in the No. 1 entry.

JR Motorsports run four cars full-time, and they also run the No. 9 Chevrolet part-time. Like the No. 1 Chevrolet, the No. 88 Chevrolet is set to be a shared full-time entry in 2025, and thus far, its only confirmed driver is Rajah Caruth.

So in addition to the No. 1 car, expect to see Kvapil spend time in the No. 9 car, the No. 88 car, or both throughout the 2026 season as he aims to score his first win and get back to the Championship 4 to compete for an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series title.