Regain Momentum … Tyler Ankrum enters the busiest stretch of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season looking to regain his momentum after top-10 finishes in two of the previous three events. The driver of the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro sits 13th in the Camping World Trucks standings, and hopeful to regain ground on the provisional playoff grid to rejoin seven of his Toyota Racing brethren inside the top 10. The Californian embarks on a stretch of eight consecutive races at Darlington Raceway hungry to return to top-10 form after posting season-best results at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and Martinsville Speedway in recent weeks.
Channeling the Gunslinger … The San Bernardino, Calif. native is throwing back to fellow Californian Mike Skinner in celebration of Toyota Racing’s upcoming 1,500thNASCAR start during Throwback Weekend. Ankrum will pilot a LIUNA Toyota Tundra TRD Pro that is reminiscent of Skinner’s No. 5 Toyota Tundra that he drove during the 2005 and 2006 Camping World Trucks seasons. Skinner earned 12 of his 28 victories in the series behind the wheel of a Tundra. Friday’s 200-mile contest marks Toyota’s 1,498thNASCAR race and the 27th for Ankrum wheeling a Toyota entry.
Season to Date … Through six of 16 regular season events, Ankrum and the No. 16 team occupy the 13th position in the championship standings, 25 markers behind the cut line. Ankrum’s season-best result came three races ago at COTA and has posted three finishes of 11th or better in the last four events. He has three previous starts under his belt at the track “Too Tough to Tame” and is focused on tallying his first top-five of the season.
Chassis Selection … Chassis No. 008 will make it’s third start of the season at Darlington. This Toyota Tundra TRD Pro most recently finished 11th at Atlanta Motor Speedway and was also raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Tune In … Fox Sports 1 has complete coverage of the Camping World Trucks’ Throwback race, beginning with practice and qualifying at 3:00 p.m. ET, followed by the green flag at 7:30 p.m ET. Stay connected with the No. 16 LIUNA team by following @Hattori_Racing on Twitter, @hattoriracing on Instagram, and Hattori Racing Enterprises on Facebook.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
On being part of Toyota’s milestone weekend at Darlington:
“It’s pretty awesome to be a part of a milestone weekend and contribute to Toyota’s 1,500 NASCAR starts. It’s perfect to have it come at Darlington for Throwback Weekend, and we have a sharp looking LIUNA Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. I spoke with Mike Skinner last week, and it’s cool to see his reaction to the scheme on our truck and hopefully we can do it some justice. We had some good momentum going before the Bristol dirt race, so hopefully we can get back to that on Friday. Darlington is a really tough place. It’s a track you really have to conserve your equipment and tires and just run your own race. If we can race smart all night on Friday, I think we’ll be in line for a good finish and get ourselves back towards the top-10 in points.”
HRE PR
