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. 18 Chevrolet Silverado for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. 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 the 21st century or later to win a NASCAR national series race.

Tyler Ankrum
Ankrum at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024
BornTyler Michael Ankrum
(2001-03-06) March 6, 2001 (age 23)
San Bernardino, California, U.S.
Achievements2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion
Awards2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
136 races run over 7 years
Truck no., teamNo. 18 (McAnally-Hilgemann Racing)
2024 position8th
Best finish8th (2019, 2024)
First race2018 Texas Roadhouse 200 (Martinsville)
Last race2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Race (Phoenix)
First win2019 Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 (Kentucky)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 50 1
ARCA Menards Series career
2 races run over 2 years
Best finish65th (2023)
First race2021 Clean Harbors 100 at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
Last race2023 Zinsser SmartCoat 150 (Mid-Ohio)
First win2023 Zinsser SmartCoat 150 (Mid-Ohio)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 1 0
ARCA Menards Series East career
14 races run over 1 year
Best finish1st (2018)
First race2018 New Smyrna 175 (New Smyrna)
Last race2018 Crosley 125 (Dover)
First win2018 Who's Your Driver Twin 100s (South Boston)
Last win2018 Casey's General Store 150 (Iowa)
Wins Top tens Poles
4 12 1
Statistics current as of November 8, 2024.

Racing career

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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

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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

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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, Ankrum would return to driving a Toyota team, this time the No. 16 Toyota for Hattori Racing Enterprises.

 
Ankrum's No. 18 truck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024.

On December 7, 2023, it was announced that Ankrum will move to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for the 2024 season, running a newly renumbered 18 truck.[23] Due to his consistency throughout the regular season, Ankrum would make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Ankrum would be eliminated at the conclusion of the Round of 8 at Martinsville.

Personal life

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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.[24]

He attended Lake Norman High School graduating in 2019.[2]

Ankrum after growing up on one, now owns a 474-acre ranch himself and operates it during weekdays away from the racetrack.[25]

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(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

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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 24 25 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 [26]
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 [27]
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 [28]
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 [29]
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 [30]
2023 DAY
7
LVS
15
ATL
26
COA
4
TEX
26
BRD
33
MAR
27
KAN
10
DAR
15
NWS
26
CLT
28
GTW
16
NSH
8
MOH
10
POC
12
RCH
13
IRP
34
MLW
20
KAN
9
BRI
23
TAL
33
HOM
25
PHO
22
17th 456 [31]
2024 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing 18 Chevy DAY
11
ATL
7*
LVS
2
BRI
5
COA
25
MAR
5
TEX
34
KAN
20
DAR
26
NWS
8
CLT
32
GTW
15
NSH
5
POC
14
IRP
4
RCH
6
MLW
6
BRI
10
KAN
14
TAL
14
HOM
5
MAR
8
PHO
33
8th 2183 [32]
2025 DAY ATL LVS HOM MAR BRI CAR TEX KAN NWS CLT NSH MCH POC LRP IRP GLN RCH DAR BRI NHA ROV TAL MAR PHO -* -*

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series

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(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 [33]
2023 Hattori Racing Enterprises 61 Toyota DAY PHO TAL KAN CLT BLN ELK MOH
1*
IOW POC MCH IRP GLN ISF MLW DSF KAN BRI SLM TOL 65th 48 [34]

K&N Pro Series East

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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 [35]

References

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  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. ^ a b Barrett, Travis. "Tyler Ankrum Looking To Give DGR Crosley Something To Sing About". NASCAR.com. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "Tyler Ankrum Excited About First Win". www.race22.com. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  4. ^ Paul, Brandon. "Top 10: Short Track Racing Stories From the Weekend". Speed51. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  5. ^ Paul, Brandon. "Burton Slithers By Choquette in Final Turn to Win Rattler". Speed51. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  6. ^ Evans, Zach. "Tyler Ankrum Prepares For Jump TO CARS Super Late Models". Short Track Scene. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  7. ^ Fenwick, Adam. "Ankrum Joins David Gilliland Racing For K&N East Races". Speed Sport. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  8. ^ Weaver, Matt. "Three takeaways from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Bristol". Autoweek. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  9. ^ Evans, Zach. "South Boston Produces Pair of First-Time K&N East Winners". Speed51. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  10. ^ Jacobs, Jaxson. "Tyler Ankrum wins second NASCAR K&N East race at Thompson in Throwback 100". Autoweek. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  11. ^ Jacobs, Jaxson. "Tyler Ankrum Dominates at New Hampshire". NASCAR Home Tracks. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  12. ^ Jacobs, Jaxson. "Tyler Ankrum Continues Dominance at Iowa". NASCAR Home Tracks. Retrieved July 28, 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 October 31, 2018.
  15. ^ "10/27/2018 race: Texas Roadhouse 200 (Truck)". Racing Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  16. ^ a b Catanzareti, Zach. "Tyler Ankrum: The Newest Student of the Truck Series". KickinTheTires. Retrieved November 16, 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 June 9, 2019.
  19. ^ Christie, Toby. "Sponsorship Falling Through Has Pushed Tyler Ankrum to Part-Time Truck Series Schedule". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved June 12, 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. ^ "McAnally-Hilgemann Racing adds Tyler Ankrum to 2024 Truck lineup". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  24. ^ Gluck, Jeff (July 1, 2020). "12 Questions with Tyler Ankrum". The Athletic. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  25. ^ Gluck, Jeff (May 3, 2023). "NASCAR Trucks driver Tyler Ankrum on his ranch life and cowboy boot etiquette: 12 Questions". The Athletic. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  26. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  27. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  28. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  29. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  30. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  31. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  32. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  33. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2021 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  34. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2023 ARCA Menards Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  35. ^ "Tyler Ankrum – 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by K&N Pro Series East Champion
2018
Succeeded by