Ankrum Enters Top-10 in Points After Texas
Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST started off his day in Texas with a solid qualifying run that set him 13th in line to start the 167-lap event. Ankrum began his charge toward the front until he started having issues with the handling on his race truck. By lap 12, the young driver reported to his team that he was aero loose and mechanically tight. The first yellow flag fell halfway through the stage and crew chief Mark Hillman elected to stay out to try and snag some stage points. Ankrum broke through the top 10 and yet again started to fall due to the handling of his No. 18 Chevrolet but held on for a 16th-place Stage One finish.
Ankrum came down pit road for four tires and fuel along with a trackbar and packer adjustment. A solid stop by the crew sent the young driver on his way to reset and start the second stage. Restarting 19th, the Calif. native started to get a feel for all the adjustments and pick off spots one by one. With 20 laps to go in the stage, he had settled into the 13th position and continued to focus forward until a caution came out with seven laps to go. Ankrum reported “loose on the bottom, snug up top but overall feeling a lot better…”. The green flag fell to finish out the stage and Ankrum knew it was time to grab some points. The young driver charged to the front in the remaining laps and ultimately ended Stage Two with a top-five result gaining five very valuable stage points.
The driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet had a great launch on the restart of the final stage and shot up to second. He remained consistent in the top five until his truck started to fade and it was too tight for his liking. Green-flag pit stops started to roll and Hillman (Mark, crew chief) called Ankrum down pit road on lap 127 for four fresh Goodyear tires with an air pressure adjustment and a top off on Sunoco race fuel. The young driver worked his way back up to ninth and was on the hunt for a solid finish at Texas when he was spun heading into Turn 1. Ankrum saved his race truck to secure a safe stop with zero damage but was forced to come down pit road when it opened for four tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment.
Staying on the lead lap, a gaggle of yellow and red flags arose in the closing laps of the SpeedyCash.com 250 and with the final caution of the night coming out with six to go, Ankrum came down pit road for another set of tires and fuel. The field ended the night with a green-white-checkered finish and the unfortunate circumstances led Ankrum to a 15th-place finish at Texas. After tonight’s efforts, the young driver moved up in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series point standings to ninth, heading into Watkins Glen next week.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
“It was really looking to be a good night here until it wasn’t. Man, this bad luck seems to be never ending but we worked up to a really good LIUNA Chevrolet tonight and always proud of this crew for getting me what I need. We had a lot of folks from LIUNA Mid-West out here tonight and I hope we were able to give them a good night and put on a good show. Looking forward to what we can get done at Watkins Glen next week.”
