Dylan Lupton, No. 15 Crosley Brands Toyota Tundra
Dylan Lupton will be making his second NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start of the season this weekend as DGR-Crosley heads to Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky. Lupton will be behind the wheel of the No. 15 Toyota Tundra on Thursday for the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225.
Lupton’s first-career start on a 1.5-mile track with the Gander Trucks occurred just two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., where he went on to collect a 10th-place finish. With 35 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, Lupton has ten speedway starts under his belt. He has one previous start at Kentucky Speedway which occurred in 2015.
Thursday’s 150 lap race will be the second of six races at DGR-Crosley for the 25-year-old Wilton, Calif. native. Lupton will also be competing at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, ISM (Ariz.) Raceway and the season-finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
The Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 will broadcast live at 7:00 p.m., ET on FS1.
Lupton on Kentucky: “I can’t wait to get back in a DGR-Crosley Tundra this week at Kentucky Motor Speedway. Much like Chicagoland, I haven’t been to Kentucky in a long time, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity to go there and hunt ourselves another top-10 finish. I think my communication with my crew chief Blake [Blainbridge] is very solid and together we can improve our effort from Chicagoland and look ahead towards our remaining races.”
Tyler Ankrum, No. 17 Academy Sports and Outdoors/Railblaza Toyota Tundra
Tyler Ankrum will pilot the No. 17 Academy Sports and Outdoors Toyota Tundra at Kentucky Speedway this weekend for the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225. The 150-lap race will mark Ankrum’s seventh NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start with DGR-Crosley this season and his first start at the 1.5-mile track in Sparta, Ky.
Out of Ankrum’s seven starts this season, five of those have been on various 1.5-mile speedways. Ankrum secured his career-best finish at Texas Motor Speedway, a SMI, Inc. sister track to Kentucky. The finish occurred during his second start at the track, Ankrum and the No. 17 team earned themselves a third-place finish after leading nine laps. Ankrum averages a 12th-place finish over the five 1.5-mile track starts this season.
The Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 will broadcast live at 7:00 p.m., ET on FS1.
Ankrum on Kentucky: “I’m excited about Kentucky. I think we’ve been getting more competitive every week and I believe what we have been working on with our Tundra’s will catalyze this weekend. I have high hopes and I think we can win. We’ve been strong on the mile-and-a-half tracks. I have to clean some things up and I think if we can have a perfect weekend, we will have a chance to win.”
Natalie Decker, No. 54 N29 Technologies Toyota Tundra
Coming off an off weekend, Natalie Decker and the No. 54 N29 Technologies team is ready to get back to the track. Decker will make her second start at Kentucky Speedway on Thursday during the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225. The one-day show will include two practice sessions to get her Tundra where it needs to be before qualifying and the race later that evening.
Decker has one previous start at Kentucky in the ARCA Menards Series in 2017, where she earned a 12th-place finish. Decker has had six starts on various 1.5-mile tracks in her Toyota Tundra this season. Two of which she has had her season-best finishes. She has a 13th-place finish at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, a sister track to Kentucky. In Decker’s most recent race she finished 14th at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway, another 1.5-mile track.
The Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 will broadcast live at 7:00 p.m., ET on FS1.
Decker on Kentucky: “I’ve been to Kentucky before in the ARCA Menards Series, but that was in 2017, so it has been a couple of years since I was there last. I’m excited to go because my DGR-Crosley guys have been giving me trucks that I’ve been comfortable with and I’m starting to learn a little more on mile-and-a-half tracks. I’m ready to see how this week goes and hopefully get another good finish.”
