Ankrum Enters Pocono Trending Towards the Playoffs
Venue: Pocono Raceway
Event: CRC Brakleen 175
Date: Friday, July 12th
Location: Long Pond, PA
Track Description: 2.5-mile tri oval
Distance: 70 laps, 175 miles (5:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network)
Keep on Fighting… Tyler Ankrum returns to Pocono Raceway this week after his fifth-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway (NSS) two weeks ago. With his fourth top-five finish, this marks the most top-five results in a single season in his career. Ankrum’s run at NSS moved him up to the sixth position in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) point standings with three races remaining in the regular season. The driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST now holds a 47-point margin to the cut line in the standings as he prepares to make his sixth career start in Long Pond, Pa.
The Close Battle… Round 14 of the NCTS tour has Ankrum return to the Pocono Mountains as the playoffs loom. Ankrum currently possess the sixth position in the standings with a total of 377 points. The California born driver has posted six 40-point-plus races this season, including his highest-earning effort at Atlanta Motor Speedway with 48-points. Ankrum has also grabbed two playoff points this season with stage wins at Daytona International Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Pocono Pace… Ankrum is set to make his sixth-career start at the “Tricky Triangle” this Friday. In his five previous appearances, Ankrum has accumulated an average finish of 8.6. The Californian’s first three starts at Pocono resulted in three top-10 finishes, including a pair of top-five results. Ankrum’s best start and finish came in his debut at the 2.5-mile speedway in 2019 when he started ninth and posted a runner-up finish. Ankrum looks to improve his average career finish at Pocono and extend his gap from the cut line on Friday evening.
Tune In … Coverage from Pocono kicks off on FOX Sports 2 on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET with practice and qualifying. Race coverage switches to FOX Sports 1 for the green flag at 5:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 18 LIUNA team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
On His Confidence Heading Into Pocono:
“After Nashville, I feel like we’re back to where we need to be. We ran great all day in Nashville and we were able to have a pretty solid points day. Pocono is a lot of fun as a driver because every corner is so different. We’ve had some good days there in the past, and came close to winning back in 2019. We’d like to do that again with our LIUNA Chevrolet this week and give ourselves even more of a cushion on the cut line.”