Josh Berry will drive the No. 1 Xfinity Series car for Michael Annett on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, JR Motorsports announced Wednesday morning.
Annett continues to recover from recent leg surgery the team stated.
This will be the fourth race Annett has missed. He sat out Atlanta (July 10), New Hampshire (July 17) and Indianapolis road course (Aug. 14).
Annett finished 11th at Watkins Glen on Aug. 7. Chase Elliott drove Annett’s car to a fourth-place finish last weekend at Indy.
“Honestly, I was still pretty sore driving at Watkins Glen,” Annett said in a statement from the team. “But I just wanted to be there for my guys and our Pilot Flying J team, and I may have been a little too eager to get back in the car. This time around, we’re going to take it slower and make sure I’m 100 percent. The plan is to take it one week at a time.”
Annett is 10 points out of the last playoff spot, which is held by Riley Herbst. Annett fell out of a playoff spot after missing last weekend’s Indy race.
Earlier this week, JR Motorsports announced that Berry would drive for the team full-time in 2022.
The 30-year-old from Hendersonville, Tennessee has competed with JRM’s late model program for over a decade.
Along with his 12-race run in the No. 8 car, Berry also drove JRM’s No. 1 car last month at New Hampshire in place of Annett. Additionally, Berry has made three starts for Jordan Anderson Racing this season. Berry has earned four top-five and nine top-10 finishes.