Gander Trucks Advance: Bristol Motor Speedway

Dylan Lupton will return to the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series this week as DGR-Crosley travels to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for the UNOH 200. Lupton will pilot the team’s No. 15 Crosley Brands Tundra in his third Truck Series race this season.

Thursday’s race will be the first time that Lupton has competed on the half-mile track in a Tundra. He does have one previous start at Bristol Motor Speedway which occurred last season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Lupton has over 30 career short-track starts across the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR XFINITY Series, and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He’s picked up two wins on tracks less than 0.5-mile in length in the K&N Pro Series West.

On a part-time schedule with DGR-Crosley, Lupton has raced for the team at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway and Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky so far this season. The Wilton, Calif. native was able to race his way to a top-10 finish in his first race with the team. He then followed that with a top-five finish after driving up from his 20th place starting position.

The UNOH 200 will be broadcast live on FS1 beginning at 8:30 p.m., ET on Thursday, Aug. 15.

Lupton on Bristol: “I can’t wait to get back to the track this week with my DGR-Crosley team. I’ve been eager to get back racing since our top-five finish at Kentucky Speedway last month. I’m excited to go to Bristol and see if we can put ourselves in Victory Lane. I don’t have a lot of experience at Bristol, so I’m not sure what to really expect, especially in a truck, but I know these DGR-Crosley guys are going to bring me a fast truck and I look forward to the opportunity to make some more noise for our team on Thursday night. I’m having a blast in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series right now and can’t thank DGR-Crosley enough for the opportunity.”

It’s a quick turn-around for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series as teams head to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Wednesday for the UNOH 200. Tyler Ankrum and his No. 17 May’s Hawaii team are looking to have a strong run to kick-off the 2019 Playoffs.

While Ankrum is only 18-years-old, he has competed at Bristol Motor Speedway four times in his career. Three of those starts were in a Super Late Model, and the fourth start was in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Last year, Ankrum competed for DGR-Crosley at Bristol, earning a fourth-place finish.

Ankrum, who most recently won Sunoco Rookie of the Year for the Gander Truck Series, will be making his 12th start for DGR-Crosley this season. Ankrum currently has three top-five finishes among his six top-10 finishes. He is most proud of his first Gander Trucks victory at Kentucky Speedway. Just last week at Michigan International Speedway, Ankrum led three laps before getting collected in a late-race incident causing his day to end early.

Ankrum and his No. 17 team look to carry the positive momentum into Bristol this weekend. You can watch all the action unfold live on FS1 on Thursday, Aug. 15.

Ankrum on Bristol: “Heading into the first Playoff race, I feel pretty good. I have experience at Bristol before in both a Super Late Model and in a K&N car. Each time we’ve ran pretty well there. I’m not too worried about what our performance is going to look like this week. I think we will have a fast truck, DGR-Crosley was pretty good there last year. I want to focus on being consistent and getting the most amount of Playoff points possible and of course, getting the best finish. I think consistency is going to be key in heading into the Playoffs. I think we can make it further than everyone thinks we can. So far, it’s been an awesome year, and I look forward to continuing it that way.”

Natalie Decker will head to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway this Thursday for the UNOH 200. The 200-lap race will mark Decker’s 14th NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series start with DGR-Crosley this season.

The UNOH 200 will mark Decker’s first time at the 0.5-mile track in the Truck Series. However, the Eagle River, Wisc. native does have one start at the speedway under her belt. Earlier this season she made her NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut for DGR-Crosley at Bristol Motor Speedway. For her first time in a K&N Pro Series Camry, Decker qualified to start the race from the seventh position. She was involved in an incident on lap one resulting her to finish 19th, but the practice time she received from the race will be beneficial as she takes to the track in her Tundra for the first time.

Decker has 13 Gander Trucks starts this season; three of those starts are at speedways less than 1.5-miles. In those three short track starts, she has an average starting position of 21st. Her average finish at these same tracks is 20th-place. Decker will have her regular crew chief Frank Kerr atop the pit box and Cup spotter Kevin Hamlin as her eyes in the sky looking to secure the No. 54 team’s first top-10 finish.

Decker on Bristol: “We went to Bristol earlier in the year with the K&N car and I loved it! I’m excited to get back there and be in a Toyota Tundra. My DGR-Crosley guys work hard to bring the best trucks to the track for me. We had such a good run at Michigan, I hope to continue that momentum into this week.”