JR Motorsports announced a four-car, full-season lineup for the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2017, with newcomers Michael Annett and William Byron joining incumbents Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier.
The team also announced that it would field a fifth car in select races with Sprint Cup regulars Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr., the team's owner, behind the wheel.
Annett's name is the newest added to the JRM roster. The 30-year-old Iowan's No. 5 Chevrolet entries will carry sponsorship from Pilot/Flying J travel centers. With intentions of competing full-time on the XFINITY tour, Annett will depart the HScott Motorsports No. 46 Chevrolet, his ride the last two years in the Sprint Cup Series.
Annett competed full-time in the XFINITY Series from 2009-13.
"I'm excited for this opportunity with JR Motorsports," Annett said in a release provided by the team. "Dale Jr. and Kelley (Earnhardt Miller, the team's general manager) have done a great job building this organization. They have put the right people in place and have a championship to their name. I look forward to joining them and competing for wins and a championship next season in the XFINITY Series."
The move marks an expansion for the Earnhardt-owned organization, which fielded two full-time teams this year for Sadler and Allgaier, then a third full-time Chevrolet Camaro for a rotation of drivers. The team also entered a fourth Chevrolet in a handful of races this season.
Byron, the 18-year-old breakout star of the Camping World Truck Series this year, signed with Hendrick Motorsports in August, drawing a developmental assignment with JR Motorsports next season. The first-year Liberty University student and NASCAR Next product has six wins in just his first season of truck competition.
Sadler and Allgaier return to JRM for the second straight season. Both remain championship-eligible in the XFINITY Series Chase's Round of 8 heading into Saturday's O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM).
Sadler has enjoyed a career resurgence in his first year in JRM's No. 1 Chevrolet, collecting three wins and claiming a hold on the series lead since July. That month, longtime sponsor OneMain Financial announced that it would sever its ties to Sadler, only to reverse course six weeks later.
Allgaier will be back with the No. 7 Chevy team. His consistency of 24 top-10 finishes in 30 races this year -- a mark he shares with Daniel Suarez -- is second only to Sadler's 27-for-30 clip in that category.