Ankrum Relegated to 26th at Pocono After Pocono Carnage

Venue: Pocono Raceway

FINISH: 26th

Start: 18th

Stage One: 9th

Stage Two: 7th

Laps Led: 0

NCTS Point Standings Position: 7th

Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No.18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST was on the heels of a solid top-10 finish for the 80-lap NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) event until a multi-truck incident on the start of the final stage collected the young driver and relegated him to a 26th-place finish at Pocono Raceway. Ankrum struck a mild qualifying run that saw him starting in the 18th position for the Millertech Battery 200 Friday evening. By lap five, he had broke the top 15 and he reported to the team that he was really good on entry but tight center-off. By the closing laps of Stage One, Ankrum was up to 10th as the field started to cycle down to pit road. A caution arose on the final lap, forcing the field to the stage end where the San Bernardino, Calif. native collected a ninth-place Stage One finish.

Crew chief Mark Hillman called the driver of the No. 18 down pit road under the stage break for four fresh tires, fuel and a slight trackbar adjustment. A quick stop by the crew allowed Ankrum to pick up three spots on pit road and restart the second stage in the ninth position. A field shuffle on the green flag restart sent the young driver back a few spots to 12th but made his way back into the top 10 shortly after where he settled for a seventh-place Stage Two result. A slow pit stop forced the driver of the No. 18 Chevrolet back multiple positions to restart the closing laps 15th in line.

An unfortunate incident on the opening of the final stage collected the young driver and sent him into the outside retaining wall of Turn 2 in the Tricky Triangle. Ankrum was able to limp the No. 18 down pit road for damage control, four tires and fuel. The truck had major damage to the right side quarter panel and tail but the No. 18 team patched things up and sent the young driver on his way. Hillman (Mark, crew chief) called Ankrum back down pit road while still under caution to make sure all damage repair was secure to finish out the race where he was forced to an unfortunate 26th-place finish.

Tyler Ankrum Quote:

“Frustrating that we keep having these results but when you get caught up like that there is just nothing you can do but try and repair and survive till the end which my guys did a fantastic job at tonight. I was not sure our No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet was going to be repairable after that but the team did a great job getting us back out there and able to finish the race. We had a really fast truck and were near the front all night once we got up there so it’s a bummer for sure. Looking forward to a change of pace next week at Lime Rock and hopefully we can turn our luck around there.”