Track: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park,
2.5-mile road course
Race: 18 of 23
Event: NGOTS 250 (64 laps, 157.37 miles)
Entries:
No. 17 Tyler Ankrum
No. 54 Raphael Lessard
Schedule:
Saturday, August 24th
9:35 a.m………….Practice
11:35 a.m…………Final Practice
Sunday, August 25th
9:35 a.m………….Qualifying
2:30 p.m………….Race (FS1)
(all times ET)
Tyler Ankrum, No. 17 May’s Hawaii Toyota Tundra
Tyler Ankrum will take on the 2.5-mile road course of Canadian Tire Motorsports Park this weekend as the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series travels internationally for the second Playoff race of the season. Sunday’s 64 lap race will make the first time that 18-year-old Ankrum has raced on the road course in Bowmanville, Ontario.
Although Ankrum has never been to the track in Canada, he does have limited experience racing on road courses. In the 2018 season, Ankrum started from the Pole position at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He then went on to earn a top-10 finish that race. Ankrum also has a start at the 2.25-mile track of New Jersey Motorsports Park where he started fourth and finished inside the top-10. In preparation for this weekend’s event, the San Bernardino, Calif. native has taken road course training classes for the experience.
Last week at Bristol Motor Speedway, Ankrum was eliminated from the race early because of an electrical issue. He was forced to settle with a 20th-place finish in what was building up to be a solid top-10 night. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year now sits eighth in the Playoff standings, making the next two races very critical.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series taking the weekend off, the NGOTS 250 will take place on Sunday, Aug. 25. The green flag will fly at 2:30 p.m., ET with live coverage on FS1.
Ankrum on Canadian Tire: “I really don’t have much road course experience, so I know that this weekend will be somewhat challenging. I think that if I can keep it clean and avoid all the chaos that always happens at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, we will have a solid finish and be in a good position going into Las Vegas. The thing about my DGR-Crosley guys is that they always bring me such great equipment; they coach me and help me learn every lap. We are going to learn as much as possible in Saturday’s two practice session and be ready to go on Sunday.”
Raphael Lessard, No. 54 FRL Express, Inc Toyota Tundra
Raphael Lessard will return to DGR-Crosley for the second time this season as the team travels to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP) for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series 250. With only two entries in the event, Lessard will drive the No. 54 FRL Express Tundra in his first Truck Series race at the 2.5-mile track in Bowmanville, Ontario.
The St. Joseph de Beauce, Quebec native, will be taking on CTMP for the first time in his young career. He has one previous road course race which occurred in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres. Lessard started 15th and finished 7th in his first-career road course race. So far this season, Lessard has four Truck Series starts under his belt; one with DGR-Crosley and three with Kyle Busch Motorsports. In those four starts, the 18-year-old one top-10, and four top-15 finishes. His best finish of ninth-place occurred with DGR-Crosley at Iowa Speedway. He has an average starting position of 10th and an 11.5 place average finish.
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series will be broadcast live on FS1 on Sunday, Aug. 25.
Lessard on Canadian Tire: “I’m really looking forward to this weekend. It’s going to be a great race and another opportunity for me to learn. Sunday’s race will be my second road course race. I’ve never raced at MoSport [CTMP] or even watched a race here. I’ll have a completely new race track to learn. I do have one road course race in the Pinty’s Series, and it went way better than what I expected, so hopefully, I can take what I learned there and use it this weekend. My DGR-Crosley truck will be fast. It’s going to be all about me learning every lap, getting better, and getting comfortable with the course.”
