Ankrum Banks Valuable Points, Top-10 in First ROVAL Start
Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
FINISH: 9th
Start: 11th
Stage One: 3rd
Stage Two: 6th
Laps Led: 0
NCTS Point Standings Position: 2nd
Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST rallied back from a late-race spin to a top-10 finish at the Charlotte ROVAL Friday afternoon in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Playoff event. Ankrum set his race truck just outside the top 10 to start the EcoSave 250 early Friday afternoon during his qualifying laps. A gaggle of trucks piled into Turn 1 causing chaos early on the start but the young driver was able to clear the carnage and cruise up to sixth. Under caution he reported to his team that he was super tight in the right hand turn so far. Stage One laps started to wind down and crew chief Mark Hillman chose to stay out and fight for stage points rather that flip the stage and pit early. The No. 18 came to a third-place Stage One finish gaining a valuable eight stage points.
The San Bernardino, Calif. native reported to his team under the stage break that he was losing a lot of grip and still felt super tight in the right hand turns. Hillman (Mark, crew chief) called the No. 18 Chevrolet down pit road for four tires and fuel along with a few adjustments to help the grip and handling on his race truck. Due to the pit cycle, the young driver restarted the second stage 19th. Chaos once again, broke out on the start and Ankrum cleared a spin in the hairpin, seeing him two positions up to 17th. The field started to spread out, leading to a quiet Stage Two. The team set the same strategy as trucks started to pit, the No. 18 stayed out and solidified more stage points with a sixth-place Stage Two finish. Four fresh tires, a top off on Sunoco race fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment sent the ROVAL rookie on his way gaining a spot off pit road.
Ankrum settled in the 18th position to restart the final laps of the 67-lap event and set his focus forward tot he front. Jumping up to 16th on the start, Ankrum continued to make passes one by one as he was up to 13th with 17 laps to go. Shortly after, the No. 18 was spun by the No. 42, sending him backwards in the lineup. No damage had occurred and Ankrum was determined to regain track position. With three laps to go, Ankrum sat in the 13th position when a yellow flag fell, forcing the field into NASCAR’s version of overtime. Hillman (Mark, crew chief) made the decision to come down pit road for a set of Goodyear tires and some fuel. A quick stop by the crew gained the driver of the No. 18 three spots off pit road to restart the closing laps 14th.
The field started to get dicey as everyone was battling hard on the final lap. Spins continued to happen after the white flag was taken and Ankrum squeezed through a few more positions and was able to solidify a top-10 result in ninth. Today’s finishing result in the first race of the Round of 8 was a win in Ankrum’s book as they are now tied for second in points with teammate, Daniel Hemric heading into Talladega.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
“Strong points day for this No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet. Really was hoping for a better result there at the end but those things happen. That is just racing at the ROVAL I guess. We are looking really good on points heading into Talladega but that is also a track where you just have to be ready for anything so we will take the off week, prepare for the chaos and take this momentum to Talladega and hopefully lock in there.”
