Ankrum Looks to capitalize on His Day in Austin
A Day of Honor … The third appearance at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be a special one for Tyler Ankrum. Austin, Texas Mayor Kirk Watson will proclaim race day, March 25, 2023, as “Tyler Ankrum Day” in honor of the driver of the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Ankrum became the first NASCAR pole winner at COTA two seasons ago when the San Bernardino, CA wheelman earned his first career pole award en route to a third-place finish in the inaugural event. In 2022, he backed up his strong debut at COTA with a top-10 finish. He’ll look to replicate that consistency and rule “Tyler Ankrum Day” in Austin, TX.
Road Warriors … COTA presents a prime opportunity for Ankrum and the No. 16 team to build on the momentum that has started in 2023. Ankrum proved his meddle in wet conditions at COTA two seasons ago by setting the fastest lap in pole qualifying. He then followed that up with a seventh-place finish last year at the event. Seven of Ankrum’s 93 career starts have come on road courses and he has assembled a formidable road racing resume. His podium finish at COTA in 2021 proved his road course racing prowess, but he’s also displayed remarkable consistency by scoring top-10 finishes in five of his seven outings at four different tracks (COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Daytona International Speedway, Watkins Glen International).
Consistency is key … Since having a close encounter with victory at Daytona International Speedway, resulting in a seventh-place finish, Ankrum has been consistent in the championship standings with the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. In the past two races, Ankrum has held his own and currently retains the 11th position in the driver point standings, a mere one point behind the provisional playoff bubble. A repeat performance of his prior road racing experience at COTA could vault Ankrum into the playoff fray.
Tune In … FOX Sports 1 will air NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice and qualifying from COTA at 9 p.m. EST on Friday, March 24 and coverage of the XPEL 225 will resume on Saturday, March 25 beginning with NASCAR RaceDay at 12:30 p.m. EST followed by the 2023 XPEL 225 at 1:30 p.m. EST. 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 COTA…
“COTA will always be a special place for me after winning the pole there in the rain a couple seasons ago, and I think we can do it again with our LIUNA Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Doug Randolph and the team at HRE continue to give me great race trucks and that will only continue at COTA. Hopefully we can take full advantage of that this weekend to get our first top-five of the season and put ourselves in position for a win.”
“It’s such an honor to have race day recognized as Tyler Ankrum Day in the City of Austin, TX for the second consecutive year. I can’t thank Mayor Kirk Watson enough for that recognition and look forward to hosting him for the race on Saturday. LIUNA members are changing the landscape in Austin and across the U.S. and Canada and this honor means a lot to me, the Southwest Laborers District Council and the more than 500,000 LIUNA members I represent.”