Ankrum’s Charlotte Night Ends Early

Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway

FINISH: 32nd

Start: 34th

Laps Led: 0

NCTS Point Standings Position: 7th

Tyler Ankrum sits seventh in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) points standings after finishing 32nd-place at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS). Early in Stage 2, Ankrum was involved in a multi-truck wreck that saw his night end early on Friday. The driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST holds a 31-point lead over from the playoff cut-line.

Ankrum began his night for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 in the 34th position after getting loose in qualifying resulting in a spin. He did not have any damage to the orange and blue LIUNA machine after avoiding any contact with the wall. Ankrum showed a strong start to the first stage finding his way up to 24th-place by the end of Stage 1 on lap 30. Crew chief Mark Hillman brought Ankrum to pit road to help with rotation of his truck after complaints of being too loose.

After his track bar adjustment with four tires and fuel, Ankrum came out 16th-place off pit road. Ankrum with his new adjustments and maintained 24th for a caution less Stage 2. Hillman brought Ankrum down to pit road for fresh tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment to help with the balance of the truck. He returned to the field in 19th position to begin the final stage of the night. In the 69th lap, Ankrum was collected in a racing incident on the backstretch resulting in a hard collision that ended his night. After being released from the infield care center, Ankrum was posted in 32nd-place.

Tyler Ankrum Quote: 

“It was an unfortunate end to our day. We have a good team that works really hard week in and week out. I am confident that we will bounce back stronger at Gateway next week.”