Ankrum Secures Spot in Round 2 at New Hampshire

Venue: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

FINISH: 11th

Start: 10th

Stage 1: 10th

Stage 2: 14th

Laps Led: 0

NCTS Point Standings Position: 5th

Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST clinched his spot in the next round of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs after a hard-fought battle at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Saturday afternoon. The young driver laid down a solid qualifying lap that led him to start the 175-lap event 10th in line. Ankrum quickly sailed up to the seventh position as a yellow flag fell before the competition of the first lap for a multi-truck incident mid-pack. On the restart, Ankrum got stuck on the bottom and started to fall back as he was losing grip until he settled back in line ninth. The driver of the No. 18 reported to his team that he was edgy on entry and overall building super tight. A gaggle of cautions arose that led to a 10th-place Stage One finish under yellow. 

Crew chief Mark Hillman called Ankrum down pit road under the stage break for four fresh tires, a top-off on Sunoco race fuel and a slight trackbar adjustment to help with the handling of the No. 18 truck. Due to majority of the field staying out, Ankrum restarted Stage Two 20th. The entirety of the second stage consisted of the San Bernardino, Calif. native fighting to find track position as he was still struggling with tight conditions on his race truck in the back of the pack due to dirty air. With 10 laps to go, another multi-truck incident broke out and the No. 18 held the15th position. Hillman (Mark, crew chief) called the No. 18 truck back down pit road for four Goodyear tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. A quick stop by the crew saw Ankrum gain three spots on pit road and restart 11th. A late-stage melee broke out, forcing the young driver back to a 14th-place Stage Two finish. 

The driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet reported back that he had lost overall grip in the front and the rear of his race truck. Ankrum stayed out to start the final laps 11th in line. With 54 laps to go, he had broken back into the top 10 until a lap-127 caution quickly followed. The laps started to wind down as Ankrum was battling other playoff contenders for track position and stage points. The young driver battled to stay inside the top 10 but had fallen outside with 22 laps to go and ultimately ended his day 11th at New Hampshire and locking himself into the Round of 8 in the NCTS playoffs. Ankrum and the No. 18 team are now fifth in driver points headed to the Charlotte Roval in two weeks. 

Tyler Ankrum Quote:

“That was a tough day for this No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet. Proud of these guys for making it to the next round but we have a lot of mistakes to clean up before we get to the Roval. The Round of 8 is going to be a challenge with all three races truly being wild cards. We have a lot of work to do if we want to make it to Phoenix in the champ four but I have full confidence in this team, and we will do whatever it takes and put in the max amount of effort we can.”