Strategy call doesn't pan out for Ankrum at Milwaukee
On a gorgeous Wisconsin Sunday, Tyler Ankrum would finish 20th after a strategy call would see Ankrum stay on the race track for almost the entire third stage. The San Bernardino, Calif. native fought a tight handling truck most of the afternoon looking to gain track position on a day that was tough to make a pass. Ankrum currently sits 15th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings after 18 events.
Saturday would be a busy one for Tyler Ankrum and the LiUNA! team; a 50 minute practice session was on deck. Ankrum would waste no time and get out early in the session, at the beginning he liked the handling of his No. 16 LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. After a few changes were made, Ankrum would feel the truck start to tighten up on the long run. A mock qualifying run was made at the end of practice and Ankrum would time in 20th on the speed charts.
Sunday would be another beautiful day that kicked off with qualifying in the morning. Ankrum would time in 16th for qualifying, having him start on the outside of row number eight. Ankrum would race around the 16th position for most of the first stage of the Clean Harbors 175, showing passing would be a tall task all day on a track that hasn't seen Craftsman Truck Series action in 14 years. Ankrum would finish P15 in stage one.
Stage two would see a long green flag run through the entirety of the stage. Ankrum would show that his truck has some long run speed. Ankrum would consistently stay in the mid teens for most of the second stage. He crossed the line for stage two in the 16th position. Stage three is where the strategy calls would be crucial. Ankrum would pit at the conclusion of stage two; a caution six laps later would see Ankrum come back down pit road for four tires and an adjustment. Tires were crucial on the day with a drastic fall off as the laps went on. Ankrum would restart in the 22nd position on the next restart; another caution would come a handful of laps later. Ankrum would stay on the track and restart the race in the fourth position. Another long green flag run ensued and Ankrum would battle on older tires to finish in the 20th position on the day.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
"Coming into this race there were a ton of unknowns; it was the first time the series has been at this track in 14 years and a lot has changed since the last time we were here. I thought we unloaded pretty good and I felt we were in a real good place for qualifying. I felt I put down what would have been a decent lap, but I felt the track gained a lot of speed as the session went on and the track was taking rubber. During the race we fought a tight handling LiUNA! Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, and passing was always super tough. So we rolled the dice and tried to gain some track position, we were just missing that late caution to reset the field. I feel we have a good shot going into Kansas."