Track: Texas Motor Speedway, 1.44-mile oval
Race: 9 of 23
Event: SpeedyCash.com 400 (167 laps, 250.5 miles)
Entries:
No. 15 Anthony Alfredo
No. 17 Tyler Ankrum
No. 54 Natalie Decker
Schedule:
Thursday, May 16
3:05 p.m………..Practice
5:05 p.m…………..Practice
7:00 p.m…………Final Practice
Friday, May 17
4:35 p.m…….….Qualifying (FS1)
9:00 p.m………..Race (FS1)
(all times ET)
Anthony Alfredo, No. 15 Steelsmith, Inc Toyota Tundra
Anthony Alfredo is ready to get back in his No. 15 Steelsmith Toyota Tundra this weekend after picking up a career-best finish in his last NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start last month at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Friday’s SpeedyCash.com 400 will mark Alfredo’s fifth-career Gander Trucks start. All four of his races have occurred at 1.5-mile tracks this season. He has one previous start at the track in Fort Worth, Texas and will be looking for revenge from his first start there where a fiery crash took him out of contention. Alfredo has had a streak of bad luck this season that he is hoping he can shake this weekend in Texas. So far this season he has one top-10 qualifying effort and one top-10 finish. He has an average finish of 17th after four races.
The SpeedyCash.com 400 will be televised live on FS1 on Friday, June 7 at 9:00 p.m., ET.
Alfredo on Texas: “I’m looking forward to going back to Texas this week. We had great speed there the last time we went earlier this year and had a shot at a top-five finish before our night ended early when we got sucked around and crashed. I also like the track a lot and feel that after a couple more laps under my belt from Charlotte, we can be even more competitive. I’m grateful for my opportunity to race for DGR-Crosley and work with such an ambitious crew. I also want to thank my partners, family, and supporters who make this all possible for me. I’m determined to make them all proud this weekend.”
Tyler Ankrum, No. 17 May’s Hawaii Toyota Tundra
RAILBLAZA has partnered with Tyler Ankrum for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, Texas) on Friday. RAILBLAZA, an outdoor mounting system company, will be the primary sponsor on Ankrum’s No. 17 Toyota Tundra as he competes in the SpeedyCash.com 400.
This weekend will mark the first time that the New Zealand based company has entered the NASCAR scene as a primary sponsor. They will jump on board for Ankrum’s fifth Gander Trucks race of the season after missing the first three races due to age restrictions.
The 18-year-old San Bernardino, Calif. native has one previous start at the 1.5-mile track in Texas where he earned a career-best finish of sixth-place. Ankrum has two other 1.5-mile starts this season where he earned an 11th-place finish at Kansas Speedway and finished 27th at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway when a late-race incident took him out of contention. Ankrum sits 16th in driver point standings after missing the first three races of the season.
Not only will Ankrum be racing at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, he will also be receiving his high school diploma before climbing in for 250 miles of racing. Ankrum is part of the 2019 Mooresville High School graduating class but will miss the formal ceremony to be at the race track. In honor of his accomplishment, Texas Motor Speedway will hold a brief ceremony before pre-race driver introductions.
The pre-race ceremony and SpeedyCash.com 400 will be broadcast live on FS1 beginning at 8:00 p.m., ET.
Ankrum on Charlotte: ““I’m really excited to be carrying the RAILBLAZA colors at Texas this weekend. It’s a special weekend for me altogether but being able to welcome a company like RAILBLAZA into the sport is really awesome. Being an outdoors guy, the partnership makes perfect sense. Hopefully, we will put on an exciting race and get our RAILBLAZA Tundra a good finish.”
Natalie Decker, No. 54 N29 Technologies Toyota Tundra
Natalie Decker will take on Texas Motor Speedway for the first time in her young career this weekend driving her No. 54 N29 Technologies Toyota Tundra. She is looking forward to getting back on track after a rough start in the last NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway last month.
This weekend will mark Decker’s seventh Gander Trucks start, which have all occurred this season. Even though it will be her first time racing at Texas Motor Speedway, she is no stranger to mile-and-a-half tracks. Four of her six starts are at other intermediate tracks like Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway. Her best mile-and-a-half finish was when she finished 13th at Las Vegas, which was also her best finish of the season.
The SpeedyCash.com 400 will be televised live on Friday, June 7 at 9:00 p.m., ET on Fox Sports 1.
Decker on Texas: “It feels like these last two off weekends are taking forever. I’m so excited to get back to the track and back in my truck! I have never been to Texas, but I’m very excited to go to a new track and learn. I really feel like my N29 Technologies Tundra will be fast right off the truck, we just have to be patient and learn as much as we can on Friday. We have three practice sessions, so we should be ready to go by Friday’s race.”
