Race Information
Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Event: Ecosave 200
Date: Friday, October 9th
Location: Concord, NC
Track Description: 1.5 mile quad-oval
Distance: 134 laps, 201 miles (5:00 p.m. EST, FOX, SiriusXM)
Ankrum in Search of Solid Points Day at Charlotte
Three of Seven … The third race of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Chase will take place this Friday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway(CMS) and Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet, is ready for redemption at the Concord, N.C. mile-and-a-half. The San Bernardino, Calif. native has suffered a chaotic start to the 2026 NCTS Chase and is looking to uphold a generous points day on Friday that will help him climb out of the 10th points position and focus forward for the remainder of the season. After what looked like a promising top three night at Kansas Speedway, Ankrum blew a left-front tire in the closing laps which relegated his night to a 25th-place finish. Onward and upward is the only option on the table for the young driver headed into Charlotte.
Backyard Chasin’ … Charlotte is an industry-wide favorite as it sits in the heart of NASCAR and is home to majority of the drivers and teams. This season, the Fall event has transitioned back to the oval and Ankrum is no stranger as the 134-lap event Friday afternoon will mark his ninth start on the intermediate quad-oval. Ankrum has struggled to find a good relationship with this track in the past but is hoping to turn his bad luck around this weekend. After Kansas, crew chief Mark Hillman and the No. 18 group are confident in their mile-and-a-half package and know they can show a ton of speed but putting together a solid, clean race is top priority.
Spoiler Highlights … Ankrum and the No. 18 team are happy to welcome LIUNA local contractor Michels Pipeline, Inc. to adorn the left-side spoiler of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet for the Friday afternoon NCTS event. Michels is a proud, family owned and operated company, both factually and philosophically. They are guided by core values and committed to principles developed by the Michels family since 1959. They believe in providing solutions and continuously improving the quality and scope of their work as they care about their people, customers, and communities where they live and work.
Tune In …Television coverage on the Ecosave will begin Friday afternoon with practice and qualifying starting at 1:00 PM ET on FS2, followed by the wave of the green flag at 5:00 PM ET on FOX. Stay connected with the No. 18 LIUNA team by following @BMR_NASCAR on Twitter, @bmrnascar on Instagram, and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
“The Chase has gone pretty much gone the way our entire season has gone and that is just chaotic. We have fought so much adversity but we have also gone through a ton of growth as a team and I am really proud of that. It is never supposed to be easy but man, I do wish we could just catch a break every once in a while. Charlotte and I have never really gotten along but I feel really confident in our intermediate package and I am looking forward to getting on track Friday and seeing what we have to work with. I nice, calm points day is exactly what we need and that is just what I intend to capture.”
Tyler Ankrum NCTS 2026 Stats
Starts: 20
Poles: 0
Wins: 0
Top-5’s: 1
Top-10’s: 5
Stage Wins: 0
Average Finish: 16.9
NCTS Points Position: 10th
The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) partners with public and private entities, elected officials, community groups, and responsible contractors to build and maintain the infrastructure needs of communities throughout the United States and Canada, while providing residents a career in the construction industry. For more information on LIUNA, visit www.liuna.org.
