Another visit to Kansas nets a top ten for Ankrum
Tyler Ankrum collected a 9th-place result in his eighth start at Kansas Speedway on Friday night. The driver of the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro sits 15th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings after 19 of 23 events.
Practice at Kansas Speedway didn't get off to the best start on Friday afternoon. A multitude of cautions would hinder Ankrum from getting a feel of his truck early on in practice. Once he could get a few laps under his belt, Ankrum would time in 15th on the speed charts for the lone practice session at Kansas Speedway. Ankrum felt like he had a lot of security in his truck to put it wherever he wanted on the race track. Ankrum would qualify 21st out of 36 trucks for the Kansas Lottery 200. This would put him on the inside of row number 11 to start the event.
At the drop of the green flag, Ankrum would ride around in the top 20 for most of the first stage, track position on the night would be at a premium. Early on in the race, Ankrum reported back to his team that his truck was a little tight in the center, and he needed a little more turn as the night went on for the No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Ankrum would finish the first 30 lap stage in the 22nd position.
The end of stage one would see Ankrum hit pit road for four new tires and some Sunoco racing fuel. Ankrum would again be mired back in traffic for stage two. He radioed to the crew that the balance just wasn't where he needed it to be to capitalize in stage two, he would ultimately finish 21st in stage two.
Stage three would start of with a bang, as Ankrum would restart in the 18th position. A lot green flag run ensued to start the final stage of the Kansas Lottery 200. A great strategy call from crew chief Doug Randolph would see the No. 16 truck hit pit road with about 38 laps remaining in the race. A late race caution would work out in the teams favor as Ankrum would get the lucky dog to be the 13th and final truck on the lead lap. After another brief caution period, Ankrum would ultimately cross the start finish line in the ninth position for the Kansas Lottery 200.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
“There's just something about this place that I enjoy. Whether you run the bottom, or rip the top line right around the wall, there seems to be multiple grooves that are all super racy. When we unloaded I thought the stability of the truck was phenomenal, we had a good truck, but it didn't show in qualifying. We had a lot of speed in our Toyota Tundra TRD Pro on the back end of the run most of the race, but it was tough to stay consistent and run the wall with no margin of error. We got super lucky there at the end when we got the lucky dog, that helped us get aggressive at the end and pick up a few spots for another top ten."