Ankrum hopes to keep momentum going into Las Vegas
Ready to roll the dice … The driver of the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro looks to cash out in a big way on Friday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) in advance of his 22nd birthday on Monday, March 6th. In his season debut with HRE at Daytona International Speedway, one race ago, Ankrum and the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro led multiple times and was contending for the victory prior to the race ending prematurely for rain. The San Bernardino, CA product has a win at a 1.5-mile track on his resume and hopes to give himself an early birthday present at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday night.
Feeling Lucky in Sin City … The 2019 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year makes his triumphant return on Friday night at LVMS and has history on his side. The Hattori Racing Enterprises No. 16 team has a stout track record on 1.5-mile tracks, dating back to the 2020 season. Since the team’s victory at Kansas Speedway in July 2020, the No. 16 crew has tallied 11 top-10 finishes at 1.5-mile venues, including a pair of wins and eight top-five’s. One third of Ankrum’s career top-five results have come at 1.5-mile facilities, including his first career top-five (Texas Motor Speedway 2019) and his first career win (Kentucky Speedway 2019).
HRE Las Vegas History … Ankrum, the soon-to-be 22-year-old, aims to add to HRE’s impressive history in “Sin City.” Since moving to full-time competition in 2017, the organization has notched two wins, five top-five, and six top-10 finishes at LVMS. Over that nine-race span, HRE’s No. 16 truck has paced the field in six different events for 126 laps. After leading on multiple occasions during the prior race at DIS, Ankrum looks to continue the trend behind the wheel of the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and lead laps in consecutive races for the third time in his career. Ankrum has six starts of his own at LVMS with one top-10 finish but owns three finishes of 11th or better.
Chassis Selection … Chassis No. 017 gets the call to compete in the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 on Friday night. This truck is new to the HRE fleet, making it’s first start at LVMS.
Tune In … FOX Sports 1 has live coverage of the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 from LVMS on Friday beginning with practice and qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET. Race coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. ET with NASCAR Raceday followed by the green flag at 9:00 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:
Looking forward to LVMS:
“We have some really great momentum coming off the finish in Daytona a couple weeks ago. Doug (Randolph) and the crew have put us in a great spot to continue the positive energy coming into Las Vegas. Starting the year fifth in points sets us up to continue to climb to the top of the standings with our No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Vegas has not always been the most kind track to me, but I feel like we are going to have a really good piece to stay up front all night. These mile and a half tracks lately have been pretty unpredictable. We just have to stay in a good position all night, and capitalize on others mistakes and I think we will end up in a good spot.”