Top-Five at Bristol Helps Ankrum Climb Point Standings

Venue: Bristol Motor Speedway

FINISH: 4th

Start: 2nd

Stage One: 3rd

Stage Two: 6th

Laps Led: 0

NCTS Point Standings Position: 4th

Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No. 18 Ullico Chevrolet Silverado RST wracks up another top-five finish with a fantastic performance at Bristol Motor Speedway, Friday night under the lights. Due to inclement weather, practice and qualifying was cancelled and per NASCAR’s rule book, Ankrum was placed in the second position to start the 250-lap event. After a few laps got under his belt, the young driver reported to crew chief Mark Hillman that he is turning really well but also a little lose on entry and a little tight through the center. A flurry of cautions arose in the closing laps of Stage One where Ankrum found himself battling for the top spot but settled for a third-place Stage One finish which gained him seven very valuable stage points.

Mark (Hillman, crew chief) made the call to stay out under the stage break for the young driver to hold the restarting position of third. A caution on the restart saw Ankrum gaining a spot to second where he fired off to remain there for multiple laps. As the laps started to wind down in Stage Two, the driver of the No. 18 Ullico Chevrolet felt his tires starting to fade. He was losing grip tremendously as he started to fall back through the top-five, leading him to a sixth-place Stage Two finish. Under the stage break, Ankrum came down pit road for four fresh tires, some Sunoco race fuel and a gaggle of adjustments to help the young driver. A quick pit stop led Ankrum to restart the final laps at “Thunder Valley”, seventh.

A few rain drops started to fall and the track conditions started to fade which caused the No. 18 to continue to struggle with grip and fall back a few spots to 10th. Ankrum voiced that the adjustments were working he just needed a few more laps for it to come around. Shortly after, the No. 18 started to find the top five again, and fast. The cautions started to stack up in the closing laps which forced Ankrum to solidify great restarts and lane strategy which ultimately led him to a fourth-place finish at Bristol. The young driver had a stout points night in collecting a total of 46 points and breaking the top five in driver points to currently sit fourth in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series point standings. 

Tyler Ankrum Quote: “We had a pretty good No. 18 Ullico Chevrolet all night long and to not leave the top 10 the entire race, really is a true testament to how hard this No. 18 team works. We keep having these top-five finishes but we just need to execute on our end a little better to be able to get this truck in Victory Lane one of these nights. I know our time is coming soon and we will continue to bring these fast trucks and show what we are made of.”