Tyler Ankrum

Tyler Michael Ankrum[1] (born March 6, 2001) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 16 Toyota Tundra for Hattori Racing Enterprises. Ankrum won the 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship, earning DGR-Crosley's first championship in any racing series. Ankrum is the first driver born in 2000 or later to win a NASCAR national series race.

Tyler Ankrum
Ankrum at Watkins Glen International in 2021
BornTyler Michael Ankrum
(2001-03-06) March 6, 2001
San Bernardino, California, U.S.
Achievements2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion
2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
91 races run over 6 years
Truck no., teamNo. 16 (Hattori Racing Enterprises)
2022 position12th
Best finish8th (2019)
First race2018 Texas Roadhouse 200 (Martinsville)
Last race2023 Buckle Up South Carolina 200 (Darlington)
First win2019 Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 (Kentucky)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 35 1
Statistics current as of February 17, 2023.

Racing career

Growing up on the west coast of America, Ankrum started racing quarter midgets and later moved up to late models.[2] He won his first late model race at Caraway Speedway at age 14.[3] Ankrum continues to run super late model races around the country, winning Hickory Motor Speedway's Fall Brawl in 2015[4] and finishing third in the 2018 Rattler 250.[5] He switched to the super late model in late 2015 after one year running the CARS Tour in the Late Model Stock division.[6]

K&N Pro Series East
Ankrum after winning the 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship

In January 2018, Ankrum signed with David Gilliland Racing for half of the 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season.[7] By the third race of the season, one more race was added with the potential for more with additional funding;[8] it eventually morphed into a full-time effort. He won his first race in his fourth start at South Boston Speedway in May over teammate Tyler Dippel, and almost won the other race in the doubleheader that day if not for a run-in with Chase Cabre late in the second race.[9] Ankrum then went on a midsummer tear, winning three consecutive K&N East races, at Thompson Speedway after failing post-qualifying tech;[10] going flag-to-flag the following week in a caution-free race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway,[11] and winning a combination east–west race at Iowa Speedway, which he called "overwhelming".[12] Despite only finishing 13th at the September New Hampshire race, Ankrum left the event with an insurmountable points lead, clinching him the 2018 K&N Pro Series East championship.[13]

Craftsman Truck Series

After winning the K&N Pro Series East championship, Ankrum would make his Truck Series debut at Martinsville in the No. 54 Toyota Tundra for DGR-Crosley.[14] Seth Smith, Ankrum's K&N crew chief, served as crew chief for the effort. After starting nineteenth, Ankrum finished eighteenth.[15] Ankrum ran the following race with DGR, notching his first top-ten finish in sixth at ISM Raceway.[16]

When asked in early November 2018 about 2019 plans, Ankrum noted that a lack of sponsorship would likely prevent him from running in the Truck Series full-time in 2019. He stated that his 2019 racing slate would include part-time rides in Trucks, the ARCA Racing Series and in super late model racing.[16] However, on December 14, 2018, Ankrum and DGR-Crosley announced that he would run full-time in 2019 starting with the spring Martinsville race due to age restrictions.[17] At Texas in June, Ankrum graduated high school on a stage during pre-race ceremonies and then recovered from multiple incidents during the race, including a slide down pit road, to finish a career-best third.[18] On June 11, 2019, Ankrum announced that sponsorship woes had put him out of the truck, with only a handful of races left in the season.[19] He would eventually land a start and park ride with NEMCO Motorsports for races not on his DGR-Crosley schedule, allowing him to remain eligible for the playoffs.[20] On July 11, 2019, Ankrum scored his first Truck Series win at Kentucky after Brett Moffitt ran out of fuel towards the final lap. This also marked DGR-Crosley's first Truck Series win.[21] The win qualified him for the playoffs, but he did not advance past the Round of 6.

On November 14, 2019, Ankrum joined GMS Racing for the 2020 Truck season.[22]

Ankrum's No. 16 truck at Sonoma Raceway in 2022

In 2022, he will return to driving a Toyota team, this time the No. 16 for Hattori Racing Enterprises.

Personal life

When Ankrum was young, he dreamed of being a professional bull rider like his childhood hero, Lane Frost. After his mom Michelle quickly turned down the idea, Ankrum quickly transitioned to wanting to be a professional golfer, after his father, who also dabbled in racing. After growing up on a ranch in Southern California, Ankrum and his family moved to North Carolina for racing.[23] He attended Lake Norman High School.[2]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCTC Pts Ref
2018 DGR-Crosley 54 Toyota DAY ATL LVS MAR DOV KAN CLT TEX IOW GTW CHI KEN ELD POC MCH BRI MSP LVS TAL MAR
18		 TEX 42nd 54 [24]
17 PHO
6		 HOM
2019 DAY ATL LVS MAR
19		 TEX
6		 DOV
9		 KAN
11		 CLT
27		 TEX
3		 CHI
13		 KEN
1*		 POC
2		 ELD
9		 MCH
25		 BRI
20		 MSP
9		 LVS
11		 TAL
7		 MAR
25		 PHO
26		 HOM
22		 8th 2182 [25]
NEMCO Motorsports 87 Chevy IOW
31		 GTW
30
2020 GMS Racing 26 Chevy DAY
27		 LVS
11		 CLT
13		 ATL
15		 HOM
2		 POC
9		 KEN
16		 TEX
6		 KAN
33		 KAN
28		 MCH
4		 DRC
6		 DOV
7		 GTW
12		 DAR
11		 RCH
5		 BRI
7		 LVS
10		 TAL
16		 KAN
34		 TEX
16		 MAR
12		 PHO
8		 9th 2198 [26]
2021 DAY
28		 DRC
21		 LVS
34		 ATL
18		 BRD
40		 RCH
3		 KAN
15		 DAR
14		 COA
3		 CLT
16		 TEX
8		 NSH
23		 POC
4		 KNX
17		 GLN
7		 GTW
32		 DAR
18		 BRI
32		 LVS
34		 TAL
28		 MAR
26		 PHO
14		 15th 432 [27]
2022 Hattori Racing Enterprises 16 Toyota DAY
28		 LVS
16		 ATL
11		 COA
7		 MAR
10		 BRD
31		 DAR
9		 KAN
16		 TEX
33		 CLT
20		 GTW
13		 SON
9		 KNX
9		 NSH
7		 MOH
21		 POC
16		 IRP
6		 RCH
13		 KAN
14		 BRI
11		 TAL
10		 HOM
11		 PHO
14		 12th 583 [28]
2023 DAY
7		 LVS
15		 ATL
26		 COA
4		 TEX
26		 BRD
33		 MAR
27		 KAN
10		 DAR
15		 NWS
 CLT GTW NSH MOH POC RCH IRP MLW KAN BRI TAL HOM PHO -* -* [29]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series East
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NKNPSEC Pts Ref
2018 DGR-Crosley 17 Toyota NSM
5		 BRI
4		 LGY
3		 SBO
1*		 SBO
3		 MEM
2		 NJM
9		 TMP
1		 NHA
1**		 IOW
1		 GLN
7		 GTW
6		 NHA
13		 DOV
11		 1st 574 [30]

ARCA Menards Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 AMSC Pts Ref
2021 Cook-Finley Racing 42 Chevy DAY PHO TAL KAN TOL CLT MOH POC ELK BLN IOW WIN GLN
22		 MCH ISF MLW DSF BRI SLM KAN 108th 22 [31]

References
  1. "Team Event Rosters – Bristol Motor Speedway – Thursday, August 15, 2019" (PDF). NASCAR. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  2. Barrett, Travis. "Tyler Ankrum Looking To Give DGR Crosley Something To Sing About". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  3. "Tyler Ankrum Excited About First Win". www.race22.com. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  4. Paul, Brandon. "Top 10: Short Track Racing Stories From the Weekend". Speed51. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  5. Paul, Brandon. "Burton Slithers By Choquette in Final Turn to Win Rattler". Speed51. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  6. Evans, Zach. "Tyler Ankrum Prepares For Jump TO CARS Super Late Models". Short Track Scene. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  7. Fenwick, Adam. "Ankrum Joins David Gilliland Racing For K&N East Races". Speed Sport. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  8. Weaver, Matt. "Three takeaways from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Bristol". Autoweek. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  9. Evans, Zach. "South Boston Produces Pair of First-Time K&N East Winners". Speed51. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  10. Jacobs, Jaxson. "Tyler Ankrum wins second NASCAR K&N East race at Thompson in Throwback 100". Autoweek. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  11. Jacobs, Jaxson. "Tyler Ankrum Dominates at New Hampshire". NASCAR Home Tracks. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  12. Jacobs, Jaxson. "Tyler Ankrum Continues Dominance at Iowa". NASCAR Home Tracks. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  13. Utter, Jim (September 22, 2018). "Tyler Ankrum clinches K&N Pro Series East title at New Hampshire". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  14. "K&N East champ Tyler Ankrum to make Truck Series debut at Martinsville". nascar.com. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  15. "10/27/2018 race: Texas Roadhouse 200 (Truck)". Racing Reference. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  16. Catanzareti, Zach. "Tyler Ankrum: The Newest Student of the Truck Series". KickinTheTires. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  17. Utter, Jim (November 14, 2018). "K&N East champ Tyler Ankrum to move up to Trucks in 2019". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  18. Lunkenheimer, Beth. "Tyler Ankrum Recovers From Spin & Slide To Score Career-Best Finish At Texas". Frontstretch. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  19. Christie, Toby. "Sponsorship Falling Through Has Pushed Tyler Ankrum to Part-Time Truck Series Schedule". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  20. Segal, Davey (September 13, 2019). "Tyler Ankrum Advances To Round of 6 Amid ThorSport Engine Woes". Frontstretch. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  21. "Tyler Ankrum lands first Gander Trucks triumph at Kentucky". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  22. Bonkowski, Jerry (November 14, 2019). "Tyler Ankrum to drive truck for GMS Racing in 2020". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  23. Gluck, Jeff (July 1, 2020). "12 Questions with Tyler Ankrum". The Athletic. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  24. "Tyler Ankrum – 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  25. "Tyler Ankrum – 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  26. "Tyler Ankrum – 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  27. "Tyler Ankrum – 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  28. "Tyler Ankrum – 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  29. "Tyler Ankrum – 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  30. "Tyler Ankrum – 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  31. "Tyler Ankrum – 2021 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
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