Ankrum Looks to Maintain Short Track Momentum at Bristol
Venue: Bristol Motor Speedway
Event: Weather Guard Truck Race
Date: Friday, April 11th
Location: Bristol, TN
Track Description: 0.533-mile oval
Distance: 250 laps, 133.25 miles (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, SiriusXM)
World’s Fastest Half Mile… Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No. 18 Ullico Chevrolet Silverado RST heads to Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) coming off a prestige run at Martinsville after battling through the field from 24th, to a runner-up finish at the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ (NCTS) first short-track event of the season. The high-banked concrete oval has matched up with the young driver for seven previous NCTS starts, tallying one top-five and three top-10 efforts with a best finish of fifth coming at this event last Spring.
Guess Who’s Back… Ankrum and the No. 18 team are excited to welcome returning partner Ullico, a leading provider in financial security for unions and their members, back on board as primary partner this weekend at Bristol along with Nashville Superspeedway this summer. This multi-race partnership marks Ullico’s third year with the San Bernardino, Calif. native in the NCTS. The company first worked with the young driver in 2023 where he debuted their colors at Mid-Ohio Sports-Car Course and finished inside the top 10. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Ullico is a long-standing partner of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), longtime partner of Ankrum and the No. 18 team.
Spoiler Highlight… MHR and the No. 18 truck welcome LIUNA contractor Vega Corporation of Tennessee to adorn the left-side spoiler of the Ullico Chevrolet Silverado RST for the Friday night event at BMS. Vega has earned a history of construction innovation, a trait started with it’s founder, professional engineer Louis Garcia. Lou, along with local architect’s Ted Franklin and Bob Seals, formed the company in 1970. Vega is a unique company managed by people who have spent their entire careers learning, implementing and teaching what makes them successful.
Tune In … All on-track activity will take place on Friday in “Thunder Valley”, beginning with practice and qualifying at 3:35 p.m. ET. NASCAR Raceday’s pre-race coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by the green flag at 7:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 18 Ullico team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
“Bristol is a super fun track to run especially with the high banking. We have had a lot of success there in the past and it is always a track I have wanted to score win at. Stoked to have Ullico on board this weekend and have them back at Bristol. Martinsville was a heartbreaker, but we are racking up the top fives and keeping our points spot high which is good. We will continue this momentum on to Bristol and hopefully find ourselves in Victory Lane.”