Ankrum Pulling Double Duty at Mid-Ohio
Seeing Double … Tyler Ankrum will be pulling double duty this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (MOSCC) with the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Ankrum will pilot the No. 61 LiUNA! Toyota Camry in the Zinsser Smartcoat 150 on Friday Evening followed by the No. 16 Ullico Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 150 on Saturday afternoon. With three races remaining to make the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs, the driver of the No. 16 Ullico Toyota Tundra TRD Pro looks to build momentum off a top ten performance in his last outing. Ankrum currently resides 15th in the championship standings and with the added track time, hopes that Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course translates to a third playoff birth.
HRE at MOSCC ... In the limited run at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, HRE has only made one ARCA Menards Series start at Mid-Ohio. Austin Hill brought home the No. 1 in the runner up position in 2021. As for the Craftsman Truck Series events, Ankrum had a strong performance at the track in 2022 get cut short with a flat tire on the last lap.
Season to Date … This will mark Ankrum's first start in the ARCA Menards Series since 2021 at Watkins Glen. When it comes to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, through 13 of 16 regular season events, Ankrum and the No. 16 Ullico team occupy the 15th position in the championship standings, 72 markers behind the cut line. Ankrum’s season-best result came 10 races ago at Circuit of the Americas (fourth) and he has posted four finishes of tenth or better in the 2023 season.
Chassis Selection … Chassis No. 008 will make a return to ARCA Menards Series action for the second time this season. Sammy Smith piloted chassis No. 008 to a second place finish earlier this year at Sonoma Raceway.
Chassis No. 015 will make it’s second start of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. This Toyota Tundra TRD Pro made it's last start at Circuit of the Americas, where Ankrum would run in the top-10 most of the day, having his season best finish of fourth when the checkered flag flew.
Tune In … Fox Sports 1 will have Raceday coverage of the Zinsser Smartcoat 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car course with coverage starting at 6:00 pm ET on Friday July 7th followed by the green flag at 6:30 pm ET.
Fox Sports 1 will also have complete coverage of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, beginning with practice and qualifying on Friday at 4:00 pm ET (FS1), followed by the green flag on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 pm ET (FS1). 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 Double Duty at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:
“This weekend is going to be really busy but also really fun. This is the first time I've pulled double duty in a couple years. I think getting into the ARCA car is definitely going to help with more track time and helping me pick up my braking points. On the ARCA side of things, we look to run up front and contend for the win. On the truck side of things, the last road course we went to we had a great run. We are bringing back the same truck and have some really good data from our SIM sessions. The extra track time will be super beneficial when it comes to just getting in the rhythm of road course racing. Track position is going to be the most crucial with the non-competitive pit stops at the race, so staying up front will be key. I can't thank LiUNA! and Ullico enough for making this weekend possible".