Darlington Starts Ankrum’s Fourth Playoff Run

The Lady In Black … Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST heads across the Carolina border this Saturday for the Sober or Slammer 200 at Darlington Raceway. The San Bernardino, Calif. native has six previous starts at the 1.366-mile oval where his best finish of ninth came back in 2022. Ankrum has not always had the best of luck with “The Lady In Black” but the No. 18 team is looking to turn that luck around in the first race of the Round of 10 in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Playoffs at Darlington.

Throwback Season … In Classic Darlington fashion, the driver of the No. 18 McAnally Hilgemann Racing entry will be running a throwback paint scheme to former NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion (1988) Tommy Ellis who drove the No. 18 Chevrolet in the Winston Cup Series for owner Eric Freedlander between 1985 and 1987. Crew chief Mark Hillman’s father, Mike Sr., worked with Ellis for several years, including during the 1988 NXS championship season, making this throwback all the more special.

Spoiler Highlights … Tyler Ankrum and the No. 18 team are excited to welcome aboard LIUNA local contractor SAK Construction to adorn the left-side spoiler for the 147-lap event Saturday afternoon. As the nation’s most experienced and respected pipeline rehabilitation contractor, SAK Construction brings proven expertise and innovation to every project. From award-winning complex projects to dependable pipeline rehabilitation, SAK consistently delivers the best infrastructure solutions to delight our customers.

Tune In …Television coverage on the Sober or Slammer 200 event will begin Friday afternoon with practice & qualifying starting at 3:05 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2 and will resume with the green flag Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. 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:

“First race of the playoffs in the Round of 10 and I feel really confident that this team can have a solid run at Darlington and lock it in early to the next round. This is the most cushion I have had headed into the playoffs before so I have a little bit of room but not enough for errors. Darlington has not been too good to us in the past but these guys have worked really hard on this package that we have for the last few weeks and I know we are going to unload something to battle with come Saturday afternoon in Darlington.”