ARCA driver Annett trades ice shots for asphalt wins

From Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway, Michael Annett was awestruck looking around at his family and crew.

The 21-year-old from Des Moines, Iowa, couldn't believe he was standing in the same spot as racing greats like Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty had done so many times before him.

"It didn't hit me until the next day," said Annett, who in his Daytona debut steered his Bill Davis Racing Toyota to victory in the crash-filled ARCA 200. "It was pretty cool to look back on pictures from Victory Lane, past and present, and realize they still have the same backdrop and to see our car sitting there was just amazing."

Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Michael Annett

ARCA 200

Race Results

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Michael Annett	Toyota
2.	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet
3.	Bill Baird	Dodge
4.	Bobby Gerhart	Chevrolet
5.	Frank Kimmel	Dodge
6.	Tom Hessert III	Ford
7.	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet
8.	Dawayne Bryan	Dodge
9.	Brad Baker	Ford
10.	Dario Franchitti	Dodge

Some believe Annett's success is amazing; he has two ARCA wins and three top-fives in just five starts.

Just three years ago, the aspiring racer was an accomplished hockey player who caught the eye of talent scouts at an early age.

By the time he was 16, Annett joined Team Illinois, a Tier 1 AAA hockey team, and led them to the 2002 Calgary Mac's AAA Hockey Tournament championship.

Annett progressed through the ranks and joined the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League. He picked up the 2004 Most Improved Player Award in the U.S. Hockey League during his rookie season. Annett stayed with the team for two seasons winning two consecutive Clark Cup championships.

But after 13 years on the ice, Annett chose asphalt.

"I knew I wasn't good enough to play professionally and I wanted the opportunity to go racing," he said. "It was always something I wanted to do but my mom said absolutely not."

Against Debra Annett's wishes, he wheeled a Late Model car in 2006.

"My mom wouldn't sign off on it, but I guess I didn't give her much of a choice," Annett said. "Racing was something I always wanted to do."

He made his first few starts in a stock car behind the wheel of an ASA Late Model North Series machine. He made a quick study of the short tracks in the Northeast finishing in the top 10 several times with a best finish of second at the Columbus Speedway in Columbus, Wis.

In 2007, Annett landed an audition with Bill Davis Racing at Talladega Superspeedway. He played the part masterfully by winning the fall race, the first ARCA/REMAX Series win for Toyota and Annett's first stock-car victory.

"The win definitely helped my audition, but I think every time you're on track it's an audition and I need to perform my best and it's what my team deserves," Annett said.

Already in his new career, Annett sees what happens if you don't perform. He saw it first-hand in Daytona when teammate and Cup competitor Jacques Villeneuve was sidelined after failing to qualify for the Daytona 500.

"It lets you know, even the most talented drivers still have trouble making it in this sport. It shows you just how competitive this business is, how hard NASCAR is," Annett said.

The development plan for Annett at BDR includes 10 ARCA races, competing for the Superspeedway Challenge.

"We have really good cars and we'd rather not tear 'em up on half-mile tracks whereas we shine on big tracks like Kansas and Chicago," he said.

And while his progression has been fairly quick, Annett doesn't want to be pushed into the Nationwide Series too soon. He is all too familiar with drivers who are thrown into the mix prematurely and fail.

"I'd like to be in Cup in two years," he said. "I've seen so many drivers get hurt by moving too fast. There have been some good drivers put in wrong situations."

Meanwhile, Annett splits most of his time at the BDR racing shop and at the gym making sure he fulfills his end of the development deal which is for the 2008 season only.

In January, Annett moved from his mom's home in Des Moines to Greensboro, N.C., taking with him a few creature comforts -- namely his mini Golden Doodle named Paisley

Annett will continue to develop under the watchful eye of BDR competition director and crew chief Tommy Baldwin as well as ARCA crew chief Joe Lax. For now, they are Annett's surrogate family. He has their support and it's giving Annett the confidence he needs to succeed in the competitive arena of stock-car racing.

His dream at becoming a professional athlete may soon become a reality.