Race Information
Venue: Martinsville Speedway
Event: Black’s Tire 200 Presented By Down East Heating & Air Conditioning
Date: Friday, October 30th
Location: Ridgeway, VA
Track Description: 0.526 mile short track oval
Distance: 200 laps, 105.2 miles (6:00 p.m. EST, FS1, SiriusXM)
Ankrum Searches for Short Track Redemption at Martinsville
Six of Seven … Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet for McAnally Hilgemann Racing (MHR) is headed just a short drive North up to Virginia for the sixth race of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) Chase at Martinsville Speedway. The NCTS veteran is coming off a thrilling run at Talladega Superspeedway where he battled his way to a superior second-place finish that moved him up to ninth in the NCTS Chase point standings. Ankrum is coming into the Black’s Tire 200 with his top priority being victory.
“The Paperclip” … The San Bernardino, Calif. native is no stranger to the half-mile short track as Friday night will mark his 12th career start at “The Paperclip”. The young driver has tallied two top-five and five top-10 finishes at Martinsville with a best of second coming in the Spring event last season (2025). Consistency is key with this young man at the famous short track as he has finished inside the top 10 in his last four starts there. Ankrum looks to continue that consistency and momentum from last week to a solid run Friday night under the lights at Martinsville Speedway.
Spoiler Highlights … Ankrum and the No. 18 team are happy to welcome LIUNA local contractor Associated Pipe Line to adorn the left-side spoiler of the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet for the 200-lap NCTS event Friday night. Associated Pipe Line Contractors is an energy infrastructure contractor serving the oil and gas industry with offerings that include pipeline constructability, pipeline construction, and pipeline integrity. They believe their experience and expertise in the planning and execution of projects differentiates them from their competitors, provides them with a greater advantage in the markets they serve and positions their company for early involvement in projects.
Tune In …Television coverage on the Black’s Tire 200 will begin Friday afternoon with qualifying starting at 12:30 PM ET on FS2, followed by the wave of the green flag at 6:00 PM ET on FS1. 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:
“Super excited to come into Martinsville this week with the momentum we left in Talladega. We had a fantastic run there and I am super proud of all my guys for helping to secure us a runner-up finish. Martinsville has been really good to us in the past and we have finished inside the top 10 there the last four runs so I know we bring high caliber speed and hopefully we can secure ourselves a clock this weekend with a nice victory.”
Tyler Ankrum NCTS 2026 Stats
Starts: 23
Poles: 0
Wins: 0
Top-5’s: 2
Top-10’s: 7
Stage Wins: 0
Average Finish: 15.7
NCTS Points Position: 9th
