One Last Shot … Tyler Ankrum prepares to take on the 12-degree banked turns of Martinsville Speedway for the final race of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) playoffs “Round of 8”. The driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST started the second round with a 14th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway and is trying to ride momentum after a strong fifth-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With one race remaining, he currently sits seventh in the point standings, trailing the cutline by 41 points. In his most recent appearance at Martinsville earlier this season, he started in ninth place and secured a fifth-place finish.
Clock Work… In Ankrum’s return to the “Paperclip”, a lot more is at stake with a title shot hanging in the balance. In April, he went into Martinsville in the third position for the NCTS point standings, 11-points off from the top spot. Ankrum started his day in the ninth position he went on to grab a total of 13-stage-points through both stages. After a pit stop to begin the final segment, Ankrum went on to gain 15 positions and earned his career best finish at Martinsville with a fifth-place result. Ankrum will need another big point day, or his first victory of the season, to earn his spot in the “Championship 4” at Phoenix Raceway.
Short Track Runner… The San Bernardino, Calif. native has consistently demonstrated his prowess on short tracks throughout the year. In the six short track events so far, he has secured a top-10 finish in each race, an achievement only matched by his MHR teammate Christian Eckes. With an impressive average finish of 6.3 on short tracks, Ankrum has accumulated 233 points, ranking him third among the current playoff drivers in points earned.
Tune In … FOX Sports 2 will start the action at Martinsville beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET Friday afternoon with practice and qualifying. The green flag will follow on FOX Sports 1 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 18 LIUNA team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
On What it Will Take to Advance:
“I know there is a lot on the line this weekend for us. Luckily we have been pretty good at short tracks, so it plays in our favor. It’s a big points hill to climb, but our team is confident we can perform and compete for the win this week. Our LIUNA Chevrolet has been great for me all season long on short tracks, so we’ll try to get the most out of it and try everything we can to have a shot to compete in Phoenix.”
MHR PR
