When the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series returns to Iowa Speedway for next weekend’s event, Sammy Smith will be honoring the life of a fellow Iowa-native, and a former driver for JR Motorsports, Michael Annett, who passed away last December at the age of 39.

The No. 8 Pilot Chevrolet Camaro, fielded by JR Motorsports, will be carrying a slightly different paint scheme than usual at Iowa, but it’s one that race fans will definitely recognize, as it’s the brightly colored Pilot/Flying J scheme that Annett ran on his No. 5.

Smith, Annett, and their families, had a special relationship. The late NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race-winner was asked by the Smith family to be the godfather of Sammy’s sister, and the two families often vacationed together,

Pilot, TMC Transportation, and Allstate Peterbilt Group, all partners of Annett’s when he raced in NASCAR’s National Series, have all supported Smith throughout his career, climbing the ranks from the ARCA Menards Series to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.

“Michael [Annett] meant so much to me personally, I would say he’s probably one of the biggest reasons that I started racing, just growing up around the track watching him,” Smith said in a video posted by JR Motorsports. “Being from Iowa, he’s from Iowa, he was pretty much family to us, I figured it was probably right to do it in Iowa.”

A major part of the tribute to Annett, which has been on Smith’s cars all season long at JR Motorsports, is a shamrock on the name rail of the No. 8. Throughout the majority of his career, Annett had a shamrock prominently featured on the back of his helmet.

It’s something that Smith says he’ll carry through the end of his racing career.

“It’s really cool that Pilot allowed us to do this for Iowa weekend, it’s really special, so thank you to Pilot. There’d be nothing more [special] for me, my family, and everyone on this No. 8 team to park it in Victory Lane and make Michael proud.”