Ankrum Lengthens His Advantage on Cut Line with Top-10 at Bristol

Venue: Bristol Motor Speedway

FINISH: 10th

Start: 14th

Laps Led: 0

NCTS Points Position Standings: 6th

Tyler Ankrum extended his points advantage to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) playoff cut line to 25 points after his 10th-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). The driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST earned 27-points Thursday night after scoring his fourth consecutive top-10 result in the NCTS. Ankrum now sits in the sixth position in the standings with one race remaining in the first round of the playoffs.

Ankrum started his day in the 14th position after posting a time of 15.61 seconds in qualifying. After complaints quickly of being too loose, the 23-year-old driver fell back and finished Stage 1 on lap 55 in the 21st position. 

Crew chief Mark Hillman brought Ankrum to pit road for four tires, fuel, along with track bar and spring rubber adjustments to help with the loose condition. Ankrum cycled off pit road in the 25th position to begin the second stage on lap 65. With heavy traffic during the segment, Ankrum finished Stage 2 on lap 110 in 24th-place.

Hillman kept Ankrum on track to gain track position for the beginning of the final stage on lap 120 and inherited the 14th position. After finding comfort on the bottom lane, Ankrum moved forward to finish the UNOH 200 in the 10th position, scoring his second top-10 result at BMS this season. Ankrum now holds the sixth position the NCTS standings with a 25-point margin to the cut line.

Tyler Ankrum Quote: 

“It wasn’t the result we were hoping for but glad we were able to come home with a top-10 finish. We struggled a bit in the first stage with our balance and made it hard for us to gain any spots. Our pit stop went a little longer because of the changes we made but it worked out for us in the end when we found some speed on the bottom lane. 25-points is not enough to keep us safe for the next round, so we will regroup next week and prepare for Kansas and try and head to the round of eight.”