“Obviously, I can’t wait to get back into the No. 43,” Annett said. “It has been a long three months, and I am more than ready to jump back in the car. The accident at Daytona was disappointing for our team, but I’m very grateful for the amount of support I had from the team, NASCAR, family, friends and fans, and not to mention the outstanding medical team that helped me through all of this. Whit it was really hard to be on the sidelines, I realize that it was even more important to heal properly.”

During the time off, Annett underwent surgery for the injury. Meanwhile, Reed Sorenson filled in as driver of the No. 43 car. Sorenson’s best finish in the car with a 10th-place showing in April at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

This is Annett’s second year with RPM. In his first season with the team, he posted six top-fives and 7 top-10 finishes in the 33 races that made up the 2012 Nationwide Series schedule. He finished fifth in the championship points standings.

“The entire team is really excited to have Michael back in the car,” crew chief Philippe Lopez said. “We had such high hopes for a good season, since the end of 2012 was so good for us.”

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“We have had success this season, and now we’re just looking for more consistency as we prepare for next season,” Ambrose said. “Drew brings a strong resume to our team and can help us find the results that we want each week. I’m looking forward to working with him.”

Blickensderfer was in his first year with Childress. He made the move to RCR during the offseason after several years at Roush Fenway Racing. In 33 races with Burton and the No. 31 team, Blickensderfer led the team to two top-fives and six top-10 finishes. Blickensderfer leaves that team with Burton 19th in the points standings.

Blickensderfer did experience success, though, during his time with RFR. While with the Roush Fenway organization, Blickensderfer called the shots for several race wins — including a Daytona 500 victory — working with drivers Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth.

“Drew has a lot of experience with Ford Racing and also how our current operation works,” team owner Richard Petty said. “His knowledge can immediately improve the performance of the No. 9 race team. Marcos has proved to win races and compete in the top-five. The addition of Drew will, hopefully, provide those results on a more consistent basis.”

Blickensderfer was a part of the Ford Racing family when he was with Roush Fenway Racing. Richard Childress Racing is a Chevrolet organization.

Blickensderfer’s replacement at RCR for the remaining three races this season will be Shane Wilson, with Luke Lambert taking over in 2013.

Ford joined RPM at the start of the 2012 season to work as crew chief for Aric Almirola and the No. 43 team, he was moved to Petty’s No. 9 team seven races ago.

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– Amanda’s also on Twitter @NASCARexaminer and has a fan/like page on Facebook: NASCAR Examiner