BROOKLYN, Mich. – Not many NHL coaches are on a first-name basis with NASCAR drivers, but Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is.
Blashill spent three years playing junior hockey in Des Moines, Iowa, and got to know driver Michael Annett during that time. Annett, who drives HScott Motorsports’ No. 46 car in the Sprint Cup Series, grew up in Iowa and was a youth hockey player in the early 1990s.
The two met through mutual friends, and Blashill has kept track of Annett’s career over the years. They reunited Sunday prior to the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.