Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 – Race Results
Venue: Phoenix Raceway
FINISH: 13th
Start: 21st
Stage One: 18th
Stage Two: 18th
NCTS Playoff Point Standings Position: 10th
Ankrum Rallies Back in Phoenix
Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No.18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado RST had high sights going into the 150-lap event at Phoenix Raceway Friday evening until a Stage Two incident on pit road set him back and gained the young driver more adversity to overcome. Starting near the back of the pack in 21st, Ankrum had his work cut out for him on his chase to the front. On the opening lap, the driver of the No. 18 Chevrolet made up six spots to 16th. By lap 12 he had reported to the team that he was lacking rear grip as he started to fall back a few positions to 18th where he ended Stage One.
Crew chief Mark Hillman called the young driver down pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and a round of adjustments to help with the rear. A quiet second stage fell upon the pack and with just 15 laps to go, Ankrum settled into the 20th position, now struggling with tight conditions on his race truck. A caution in the closing laps of the stage forced the stage end and Ankrum was relegated to a 18th-place Stage Two finish. The San Bernardino, Calif. native came down for what seemed to be a routine stage-break stop for four tires and fuel until the team noticed a massive tire rub on the left-rear. Still under yellow, Ankrum came back down pit road for the crew to tug on the fender and make sure the rub did not continue.
This unfortunate event set Ankrum back to battle in the hornets nest and fight his way back to the top in the closing laps. The young driver set focus forward and powered his way through the field to ultimately settle for a 13th-place effort at Phoenix for the Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150.
Tyler Ankrum Quote:
“Tough night for this No. 18 LIUNA team, man. We really lacked a ton of rear grip there in the beginning of the run and it just continued on throughout the night. We can’t escape the bad luck this year and I hate it for this team. Once we got it dialed in at the end we were able to make up some spots but we will hold our heads high and head into Talladega next week where anything can happen.”
