Tyler Ankrum gained a position in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) points standings putting himself back in the top-five. He has a 72-point cushion on the cut line halfway through the regular season. Ankrum earned a top-10 result in Stage 1 ended the evening at Kansas Speedway with a 20th-place finish.
Ankrum began his night for the Heart of America 200 in 12th position after his qualifying time of 30.96 seconds. On lap two, he found himself four-wide when a caution flag flew and ran in 14th. Ankrum moved up to eighth position by the end of Stage 1 on lap 30 and earned three stage points.
Ankrum made his first pit stop under caution to receive four tires, fuel, and a minor wedge adjustment to help on the short run. Ankrum came out of pit road 12th to begin Stage 2 on lap 37. He maintained 13th position for the remainder of the second stage and made his second stop of the night under the lap 60 stage caution.
The driver of the No. 18 Liuna Chevrolet Silverado RST told his crew chief Mark Hillman that he felt super free in the corners. Hillman made the call to give Ankrum a wedge adjustment, round out of the right rear, four tires, and fuel. Ankrum started at the rear of the field after a pit road penalty. He moved up to 23rd in the first seven laps of the final stage. Ankrum made his final pit stop during the green flag pit cycle lap 99 running in the ninth position. Ankrum cycled out in 25th being one lap down and finished his night in 20th position.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
“We had a good truck in the first half of the night. The first stage we found some speed in the clean air and it was looking positive for us. I made a small mistake on pit road, and it cost us unfortunately. We earned stage points tonight and I’m glad we were still able to move up in the points standings. ”
McAnally Hilgemann Racing PR
