More track time proves benefical for Ankrum at Mid Ohio
The weekend would be a busy one for the Hattori Racing Enterprises crew with Tyler Ankrum pulling double duty at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course (MOSCC). The action packed weekend would start with ARCA Menards Series practice on a gorgeous Ohio afternoon. After the one hour practice session, Ankrum would time in second on the speed charts missing out on the top spot by less than a tenth of a second. When it came time to qualify, Ankrum would see his top spot taken from him with just minutes left in the session. This would have Ankrum and the No. 61 LiUNA! Toyota Camry start on the outside pole for the Zinsser Smart Coat 150.
From the drop of the green flag Ankrum showed emaculate speed running in second behind Sean Hingorani as the two would pull away from the field by more than five seconds. Ankrum, after a bevy of cautions, would slowly real in Hingorani and make a move in the keyhole section of the track to take the lead. By the halfway break, Ankrum would lead the field to pit road for four tires and fuel.
On the ensuing restart, Ankrum would find the sand trap in turn one and lose around 14 spots as he regained his footing on track. Slowly but surely, Ankrum would work his way back through the field under green flag conditions making up nearly 15 seconds to capture the win at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course. This was Ankrum's first ARCA Menards Series win in just his second start. Momentum was on his side heading into Saturday.
Saturday would see Ankrum and the No. 16 Ullico Toyota Tundra TRD Pro start from the inside of row seven to start the rain soaked O'Reilly Auto Parts 150. Treacherous conditions would set the stage for some intense racing throughout the afternoon. Ankrum would tip toe around the track in the hazardous conditions, unfortunately he would find trouble as he ran off course early in stage one. By the end of the stage, he had worked his way up to the 20th position as the rain had worked its way through the area and the sun would make an appearance to assist with track drying.
Ankrum would bring the No. 16 Ullico Toyota Tundra TRD Pro down pit road for four slick tires and fuel at the stage break. This would prove to be the right move as Ankrum would waste no time getting back to the front of the field. Ankrum would be one of the biggest movers of stage two going from 20th place all the way up to seventh place, earning him four valuable stage points. To start stage three, Ankrum would battle inside the top five for most of the stage. However, countless restarts would work against Ankrum as he would fall back in the running order crossing the finish line in tenth position.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
“It was a pretty special weekend, looking back on it. In only my second career start in the ARCA Menards Series, it was great to have such a fast car, lead laps, have diversity and come back through the field to win. We got messages from LiUNA! members all across the United States about the win. It was so special to not only get back to victory lane, but to do it with LiUNA! on the car. They have been with me for the better part of four years and they were due. It was also a great win for HRE. We have a lot of talented people that work on this team and they really deserved the win.”
“Looking at Saturday, I fought a tight condition most of the race. I did everything I could inside the truck to work on the balance. These guys and gals never gave up and we came home with another top-10 finish. It's yet another weekend where we built a little momentum heading into Pocono in a couple weeks.”