Ankrum Ready to Reload at Kansas
Venue: Kansas Speedway
Event: Heart of America 200
Date: Saturday, May 4th
Location: Kansas City, KS
Track Description: 1.5-mile tri oval
Distance: 134 laps / 201 miles (8:00 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, Motor Racing Network)
Back to Work… Tyler Ankrum gets back to business at Kansas Speedway this weekend after a two-week break. The San Bernadino, Calif. driver is set to make his 10th start at Kansas on Saturday night. Ankrum currently holds the sixth position in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) points standings, only sitting 43 points behind the top spot. He has three top-five finishes in the first seven races and hopes to add another heading into the second half of the regular season.
Inching Closer… In his last two appearances at Kansas, the driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST has earned back-to-back top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile tri oval. With his most recent ninth-place finish last year, he plans on tallying another before the midpoint of the regular season and breaking through for his first victory of 2024. Ankrum holds an average start of 10.7, the fourth-best among NCTS drivers this season. His best result this year is a second-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a track that has similar features to Saturday’s event at Kansas.
MHR Track History … McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR) has made 12 previous appearances at Kansas. MHR teams have a combined average start of 10th with one pole position, earned by Christian Eckes in 2023. The teams have earned two top-five’s, seven top-10 finishes, and one victory at Kansas (Eckes in September 2023).
Tune In … FOX Sports 1 (FS1) has all the action from Kansas covered on Saturday. FS1 comes on the air at Noon ET with practice and qualifying followed by NASCAR Raceday at 7:00 p.m. ET, and the green flag at 8:00 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 heading to Kansas after a two week break:
“Having two weeks off was a good thing for our group. All of the guys on this LIUNA team are ready to get back to the track and get back to running up front. We’re still in a good position in the point standings, and I know (crew chief) Mark (Hillman) and the guys have a great truck ready to go this weekend. I have been to Kansas a lot and have some confidence going there. There’s a lot of lanes to manage and a lot of options as a driver, so it’s a fun place to race and would be a great track to get our first win of the year.”