Tyler Michael Ankrum[1] (born March 6, 2001) is an American professionalstock car racing driver. He competes full-time in theNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 18Chevrolet Silverado RST forMcAnally-Hilgemann Racing. Ankrum won the2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship, earningDGR-Crosley's first championship in any racing series. Ankrum is the first driver born in the 21st century or later to win a NASCAR national series race.
Growing up on the west coast of America, Ankrum started racingquarter midgets and later moved up tolate models.[2] He won his first late model race atCaraway Speedway at age 14.[3] Ankrum continues to runsuper late model races around the country, winningHickory Motor Speedway's Fall Brawl in 2015[4] and finishing third in the 2018 Rattler 250.[5] He switched to the super late model in late 2015 after one year running theCARS Tour in the Late Model Stock division.[6]
In January 2018, Ankrum signed withDavid Gilliland Racing for half of the2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season.[7] By the third race of the season, one more race was added with the potential for more with additional funding;[8] it eventually morphed into a full-time effort. He won his first race in his fourth start atSouth Boston Speedway in May over teammateTyler Dippel, and almost won the other race in the doubleheader that day if not for a run-in withChase Cabre late in the second race.[9] Ankrum then went on a midsummer tear, winning three consecutive K&N East races, atThompson Speedway after failing post-qualifying tech;[10] going flag-to-flag the following week in a caution-free race atNew Hampshire Motor Speedway,[11] and winning a combination east–west race atIowa Speedway, which he called "overwhelming".[12] Despite only finishing 13th at the September New Hampshire race, Ankrum left the event with an insurmountable points lead, clinching him the 2018 K&N Pro Series East championship.[13]
After winning the K&N Pro Series East championship, Ankrum would make his Truck Series debut at Martinsville in the No. 54Toyota Tundra forDGR-Crosley.[14] Seth Smith, Ankrum's K&N crew chief, served as crew chief for the effort. After starting 19th, Ankrum finished 18th.[15] Ankrum ran the following race with DGR, notching his first top-ten finish in sixth atISM Raceway.[16]
When asked in early November 2018 about 2019 plans, Ankrum noted that a lack of sponsorship would likely prevent him from running in the Truck Series full-time in 2019. He stated that his 2019 racing slate would include part-time rides in Trucks, theARCA Racing Series, and insuper late model racing.[16] However, on December 14, 2018, Ankrum and DGR-Crosley announced that he would run full-time in 2019 starting with the spring Martinsville race due to age restrictions.[17] At Texas in June, Ankrum graduated high school on a stage during pre-race ceremonies and then recovered from multiple incidents during the race, including a slide down pit road, to finish a career-best third.[18] On June 11, 2019, Ankrum announced that sponsorship woes had put him out of the truck, with only a handful of races left in the season.[19] He would eventually land astart and park ride withNEMCO Motorsports for races not on his DGR-Crosley schedule, allowing him to remain eligible for the playoffs.[20] On July 11, 2019, Ankrum scored his first Truck Series win atKentucky afterBrett Moffitt ran out of fuel towards the final lap. This also marked DGR-Crosley's first Truck Series win.[21] The win qualified him for the playoffs, but he did not advance past the Round of 6.
On November 14, 2019, Ankrum joinedGMS Racing for the 2020 Truck season.[22]
In 2022, Ankrum would return to driving a Toyota team, this time the No. 16Toyota forHattori Racing Enterprises.
On December 7, 2023, it was announced that Ankrum would move toMcAnally-Hilgemann Racing for the2024 season, running a newly renumbered 18 truck.[23] Due to his consistency throughout the regular season, Ankrum would make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Ankrum would be eliminated at the conclusion of the Round of 8 atMartinsville.
When Ankrum was young, he dreamed of being a professional bull rider like his childhood hero,Lane Frost. After his mom Michelle quickly turned down the idea, Ankrum quickly transitioned to wanting to be a professional golfer, after his father, who also dabbled in racing.
After growing up on a ranch in Southern California, Ankrum and his family moved to North Carolina for racing.[24]
He attendedLake Norman High School inMooresville, North Carolina, graduating in 2019.[2]
After growing up on one, Ankrum now owns a 474-acre ranch and operates it on weekdays away from the racetrack.[25]
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | NCTC | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | DGR-Crosley | 54 | Toyota | DAY | ATL | LVS | MAR | DOV | KAN | CLT | TEX | IOW | GTW | CHI | KEN | ELD | POC | MCH | BRI | MSP | LVS | TAL | MAR 18 | TEX | 42nd | 54 | [26] | |||||||||||||||||
| 17 | PHO 6 | HOM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | DAY | ATL | LVS | MAR 19 | TEX 6 | DOV 9 | KAN 11 | CLT 27 | TEX 3 | CHI 13 | KEN 1* | POC 2 | ELD 9 | MCH 25 | BRI 20 | MSP 9 | LVS 11 | TAL 7 | MAR 25 | PHO 26 | HOM 22 | 8th | 2182 | [27] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NEMCO Motorsports | 87 | Chevy | IOW 31 | GTW 30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | GMS Racing | 26 | Chevy | DAY 27 | LVS 11 | CLT 13 | ATL 15 | HOM 2 | POC 9 | KEN 16 | TEX 6 | KAN 33 | KAN 28 | MCH 4 | DRC 6 | DOV 7 | GTW 12 | DAR 11 | RCH 5 | BRI 7 | LVS 10 | TAL 16 | KAN 34 | TEX 16 | MAR 12 | PHO 8 | 9th | 2198 | [28] | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | DAY 28 | DRC 21 | LVS 34 | ATL 18 | BRD 40 | RCH 3 | KAN 15 | DAR 14 | COA 3 | CLT 16 | TEX 8 | NSH 23 | POC 4 | KNX 17 | GLN 7 | GTW 32 | DAR 18 | BRI 32 | LVS 34 | TAL 28 | MAR 26 | PHO 14 | 15th | 432 | [29] | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Hattori Racing Enterprises | 16 | Toyota | DAY 28 | LVS 16 | ATL 11 | COA 7 | MAR 10 | BRD 31 | DAR 9 | KAN 16 | TEX 33 | CLT 20 | GTW 13 | SON 9 | KNX 9 | NSH 7 | MOH 21 | POC 16 | IRP 6 | RCH 13 | KAN 14 | BRI 11 | TAL 10 | HOM 11 | PHO 14 | 12th | 583 | [30] | |||||||||||||||
| 2023 | DAY 7 | LVS 15 | ATL 26 | COA 4 | TEX 26 | BRD 33 | MAR 27 | KAN 10 | DAR 15 | NWS 26 | CLT 28 | GTW 16 | NSH 8 | MOH 10 | POC 12 | RCH 13 | IRP 34 | MLW 20 | KAN 9 | BRI 23 | TAL 33 | HOM 25 | PHO 22 | 17th | 456 | [31] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | 18 | Chevy | DAY 11 | ATL 7* | LVS 2 | BRI 5 | COA 25 | MAR 5 | TEX 34 | KAN 20 | DAR 26 | NWS 8 | CLT 32 | GTW 15 | NSH 5 | POC 14 | IRP 4 | RCH 6 | MLW 6 | BRI 10 | KAN 14 | TAL 14 | HOM 5 | MAR 8 | PHO 33 | 8th | 2183 | [32] | |||||||||||||||
| 2025 | DAY 34 | ATL 3 | LVS 10 | HOM | MAR | BRI | CAR | TEX | KAN | NWS | CLT | NSH | MCH | POC | LRP | IRP | GLN | RCH | DAR | BRI | NHA | ROV | TAL | MAR | PHO | -* | -* | [33] | ||||||||||||||||
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| ARCA Menards Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | AMSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2021 | Cook-Finley Racing | 42 | Chevy | DAY | PHO | TAL | KAN | TOL | CLT | MOH | POC | ELK | BLN | IOW | WIN | GLN 22 | MCH | ISF | MLW | DSF | BRI | SLM | KAN | 108th | 22 | [34] |
| 2023 | Hattori Racing Enterprises | 61 | Toyota | DAY | PHO | TAL | KAN | CLT | BLN | ELK | MOH 1* | IOW | POC | MCH | IRP | GLN | ISF | MLW | DSF | KAN | BRI | SLM | TOL | 65th | 48 | [35] |
| NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | NKNPSEC | Pts | Ref |
| 2018 | DGR-Crosley | 17 | Toyota | NSM 5 | BRI 4 | LGY 3 | SBO 1* | SBO 3 | MEM 2 | NJM 9 | TMP 1 | NHA 1** | IOW 1 | GLN 7 | GTW 6 | NHA 13 | DOV 11 | 1st | 574 | [36] |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | K&N Pro Series East Champion 2018 | Succeeded by |
