Ankrum Charges From Tail to Finish Eighth at Martinsville

Venue: Martinsville Speedway

FINISH: 8th

Start: 34th

Laps Led: 0

NCTS Points Position Standings: 7th

Tyler Ankrum finished his night at Martinsville Speedway with in eighth-place after starting Friday night’s event in the back of the field. The driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST’s result gives him seven consecutive top-10 results at short tracks this season. His fourth top-10 finish in the playoffs has him positioned seventh in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series standings and can finish as high as fifth in next week’s season finale.

Ankrum began his effort at Martinsville by posting the 23rd fastest time in qualifying with a 19.93 second lap. The No. 18 Chevrolet started at tail end of the field after changing brakes prior to the race. Ankrum wasted no time getting forward and moved up into the 26th position by the time the first caution flag waived on lap 36. With super tight handling issues, crew chief Mark Hillman called Ankrum to pit road under the caution to receive four tires, fuel, and a wedge adjustment.

Ankrum gained several positions following his pit stop, restarting in 21st on lap 43. He continued to advance and finished Stage 1 on lap 50 in 17th. The second segment resumed on lap 61, with Ankrum restarting in 15th position. During a long green flag run, Ankrum found speed and cracked inside the top-10 for the first time of the day on lap 90. Just as he got himself into the ninth position another caution waived concluding Stage 2 on lap 98. After collecting two points in ninth under caution at lap 100, Hillman decided to bring Ankrum back into pit road with the rest of the field for another set of fresh tires and fuel.

Thanks to a quick pit stop by the No. 18 LIUNA team, Ankrum gained positions and began the final segment on lap 111 in sixth-place. He maintained a spot in the top-10 until a caution flag appeared on lap 163. Following the restart on lap 172, his truck tightened, causing him to slip to 11th. Another caution on lap 183 gave Ankrum the chance to pit with the field for a final set of tires, fuel, and a wedge adjustment to address the tightening issue. Restarting in 15th, he battled his way back to finish in eighth.

Tyler Ankrum Quote: 

“It’s disappointing for sure, we were not expecting to face these issues we did during practice and qualifying to start in the rear of the field. We were able to fix some of the problems and gained ground quickly. My No. 18 team executed well on pit road and tried everything they could to give me an opportunity to get to the front. It’s tough to come up just short of the Championship round, but I’m proud of the effort and the speed we showed.”