On a blisteringly hot day at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Tyler Ankrum would finish 25th after an electrical issue at the beginning of stage three. Ankrum had a strong run going, running inside the top ten for most of stage one, when an electrical issue would put him down two laps. Ankrum would get to one lap down, but was never able to get a timely caution. Ankrum currently sits in the 17th position in the driver standings with one race to go in the 2023 season.
A late afternoon start for practice on Friday would see Ankrum make steady progress throughout the session. After the first run, Ankrum reported the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro needed a little more drive off the corner and he liked the direction the truck was headed on the long run. After some changes were made, Ankrum would go back out and report the truck was better compared to the first run. When the final flag flew for practice, Ankrum would time in 16th on the speed charts. During qualifying, it was more of the same for Ankrum; he would time in 16th fastest for the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 in the 16th position.
Ankrum wasted no time getting into the top ten at the start of the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200. After lap one, Ankrum was inside the top ten running in the ninth position, up from his starting position of 16th. Ankrum would stick inside the top ten, but fade slightly late in the run and would finish stage one in the 11th position. On the radio after the stage, Ankrum would report that he was losing his drive off the corner and just couldn’t keep his momentum going when compared to the trucks around him. Crew Chief Doug Randolph would call him to pit road for four tires, fuel, and an adjustment.
Ankrum would start stage two where he ended stage one, in the 11th position. Ankrum would once again battle around the top ten for most of the stage, when a caution came out with a few laps remaining in the stage. Playing an alternate strategy, Ankrum would stay on the track for a two lap shootout. Ankrum would restart on the front row, but would cross the line in the 16th position as many of his competitors came down pit road for new tires. When stage two ended, Ankrum would make his way down pit road for four tires and fuel. As he made his way back on the race track, he noticed an electrial issue inside his No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Ankrum would come back down pit road and the ECU would be swapped out. This unfortunately put the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro down two laps. A timely caution came out and Ankrum was able to get one of his laps back early on in stage three.
Stage three would see the longest green flag run of the day for the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200. After the electrical issue, Ankrum would stay on track for the duration of the third stage. When the checkered flag flew, Ankrum would cross the line in the 25th position.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
“This one was just a frustrating day, I feel like we had a truck that was super capable of running in the top ten. We fired off really good there to start the race, just needed a little extra to get us to stay up there. The ECU issue definitely put a real hamper on the day. We were able to get one of our laps back, but with that long green flag run, it just wasn’t in the cards today. The team brought me a great truck, I know all of them worked their tails off to get this thing ready for the weekend. We now set our sights on the last one of the year at Phoenix”.
HRE PR
