Short Track Thursday Night … Tyler Ankrum will wrap up the short track portion of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) on Thursday night. The driver of the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro has collected a top-10 at the track previously and looks to add another at “Thunder Valley”. Ankrum currently resides 15th in the championship standings and looks to play spoiler for those in the playoffs.
Ankrum at Bristol … In three prior events on BMS’ concrete surface, Ankrum has collected one top-10 finish, a seventh-place result in 2020 after leading 53 circuits. He has made 16 short track starts in Craftsman Trucks competition in addition to three appearances on BMS’ red clay surface in 2021 and earlier this season.
Season to Date … Through 19 of 23 events for the 2023 schedule, Ankrum and the No. 16 LiUNA! team occupy the 15th position in the drivers championship standings. Ankrum’s season-best result came 16 races ago at Circuit of the Americas (fourth) and he has posted six finishes of tenth or better in the 2023 season. Currently, Ankrum has one top five, and six top-10’s for the 2023 season.
Chassis Selection … Chassis No. 008 will make it’s fourth start of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season at Bristol Motor Speedway. This Toyota Tundra TRD Pro made it’s last start at The Milwaukee Mile, where Ankrum would run around the top-15 most of the day. Ankrum and the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro would finish gamble on strategy late in the race, ultimately finishing in the 20th position.
Tune In … The UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway will kick off with practice starting on Thursday at 4:00 pm ET, on Fox Sports 2. Qualifying will follow at 4:30 pm ET, also on FS2, followed by NASCAR RaceDay at 8 pm ET (FS1). Green flag action on Friday night will kick off at 9:00 pm ET (FS1). 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 Bristol Motor Speedway:
“Bristol is one of the most fun and challenging racetracks we go to. I always enjoy the short tracks and we’ve been pretty good at each one this year. Bristol is unlike any other on our schedule, obviously, but I think we can continue to improve our performance this week with our LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. We had a really strong truck last week at Kansas and we’ve all been eager to get back to the track after a short week. Hopefully we can have a smooth night and knock down some strong finishes over this final stretch of the season.”
Hattori Racing Enterprises PR
