After three restful weekends off from competition, Tyler Ankrum and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitors are back in action at Kansas Speedway on Friday night. The driver of the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro has a prime opportunity to rekindle his momentum in the Heartland. HRE visited victory lane in the Sunflower State two seasons ago and Ankrum is recently removed from a season-best performance two races ago at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP). With five events remaining on the 2022 calendar, Kansas Speedway provides Ankrum and the No. 16 squad a stage to excel to begin the stretch run.
HRE at Kansas … Since the 2017 season, Kansas Speedway has proven to be one of the most fruitful venues for the No. 16 squad led by crew chief Scott Zipadelli. Zipadelli’s squad has finished sixth or better in six of eight races with three different drivers. During that span, the No. 16 Toyota has led laps in four events, captured one victory (July 2020), and tallied three podium positions. San Bernardino’s Ankrum looks to contribute to those stout numbers at the only venue the series visits twice this season.
Special Guests … Ankrum and the No. 16 team will have some extra support on Friday as they’ll be joined by seven-year-old Anthony John DiScipio who is battling leukemia. Ankrum met Anthony John in July during LIUNA’s New Your State Laborer’s Golf Classic benefitting Make-A-Wish at Saratoga National Golf Club. His name will be displayed on the right side door of Ankrum’s No. 16 and will attend his first NASCAR race on Friday night along with his father (Anthony), mother (Samantha) and older sister Taylynn. As always, the No. 16 will display gold ribbons during September for Childhood Cancer Awareness month
Ankrum will also carry cancer survivor Karen McGinnis on the left side door at Kansas. In conjunction with the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation and NASCAR Foundation, McGinnis will ride along through the “Honor A Cancer Hero Program” in an effort to give those fighting this disease hope to join her as a survivor.
Season to Date … Ankrum continues to hold the 12th spot in the Camping World Trucks point standings after 18 of 23 scheduled events. The Californian has collected seven top-10 results, with a best finish of sixth at IRP and owns an average finish of 15.3.
Chassis Selection … Zipadelli and the HRE squad have prepared chassis No. 007 for their return to Kansas Speedway. Ankrum most recently drove this chassis to a 16th-place result at Pocono Raceway in July and raced this Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in the spring event at Kansas. Chassis No. 007 graced victory lane at Kansas in the first act of a doubleheader weekend in July 2020 after leading 65 laps with Austin Hill.
Tune In … Coverage from Kansas begins on Friday with qualifying at 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2. Race coverage flips to FOX Sports 1 beginning at 6:30 p.m. with NASCAR Raceday 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 returning to Kansas:
“I’m really looking forward to getting back in the truck and glad that we’re back racing this weekend. We’ve had a long break since Richmond, so it’s nice to be back in the swing of things. We didn’t have the finish we wanted earlier this year at Kansas, but the guys have put tons of work into our LIUNA Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for this week. It’s a place where these guys have run well in the past and we had a lot of speed in this truck at Pocono earlier this year, so I’m optimistic we can run up front and contend for a good finish on Friday night. We have a couple special people riding on board with Karen and Anthony John. Cancer affects far too many people, so we’re happy that Karen is a survivor and can ride with us, and also looking forward to having Anthony John and his family experience their first race too.”
HRE PR
