The No. 17 of Tyler Ankrum was having a great run going at Michigan International Speedway until he was involved in a wreck with four laps to go after a push gone wrong.
Matt Crafton and Ankrum had been pushing each other all day, helping each other on the restarts that are so tricky at Michigan. On the restart with four to go, Crafton misjudged his push to Ankrum, which sent him spinning in front of the field and he collected his DGR-Crosley teammate.
Despite being caught up in a wreck Ankrum was not disappointed by the outcome.
“Final restart, things got a little bit hairy,” Ankrum told MRN Radio. “I was trying to control some of my tire spin with the clutch, just modulating on the throttle, brakes and the clutch. Just got a really big shove from the 88 (Crafton), felt like he kind of got in my right rear. Just got sideways there, chasing it from there and ended up getting hit from the side.”
“It was a really good effort by my Toyota DGR-Crosley team. We had a really fast truck. I think we could have won if I would have just got a better launch on that restart and not spun my tires so much. Really great effort, just one mistake at the beginning and then we were able to recover and we all saw the speed we had there at the end. Unfortunate it happened but we’re going to go to Bristol and try to go get one there.”
Ankrum’s day started out rough being penalized for a start violation by NASCAR. He would have to serve a pass-through penalty in order to serve the violation. As a result, Ankrum did not get any stage points in Stage 1 as he finished 25th. In stage 2 he had a much better finishing position of 12th.
Before being caught up in the crash with four to go, the California native was slated to restart on the front row with a shot at the win. However, with the crash, Ankrum had to settle for a 25th place finish after starting third.
Ankrum and his No. 17 DGR-Crosley team will now shift their focus to the Playoffs where they are seeded eighth in the standings, 17 points behind first place.
It was win
or bust for Sheldon Creed and his No. 2 GMS Racing coming into the regular-season
finale.
Creed has
been on a roll the past couple of weeks, however, his regular crew chief was
suspended after Eldora due to a safety violation described as a loss or
separation of added ballast to the vehicle. Jeff Stankiewicz (Creed’s Crew
Chief), Austin Pollak (Truck Chief) and Jonathan Stewart (Engineer) were all
suspended for three races including the Michigan race.
With the added pressure to perform well, Creed did not have a very good starting after he qualified 18th early Saturday morning, which left him a lot of work to do in order to get to the front where track position means so much at Michigan.
It didn’t take Creed long though to move up to the front in hopes of a playoff spot. In Stage 1, he finished 14th while he had a much better finishing position in Stage 2, finishing ninth and earning stage points. The California native even led a few times during the two stages for nine laps.
Despite leading a few laps and being in contention to win on the final restart in overtime, Creed fell .125 seconds short of his first win and the possibly making the Playoffs. He will have to wait for another chance to compete for a championship.
“I don’t know if he (Austin Hill) doesn’t pass tech, but he’s pretty good at passing tech,” Creed said to MRN Radio regarding the second-place finish. “I did everything I could there, the guys gave me a good car. I started 18th and just plugged away at it. Really, that’s the most patient race of the year. Just did what I could to save the car all day.”
“I finally lined up on the outside and outsides are huge on restarts. I was damn near wide open those last two laps. I think I was starting to lose a little bit of grip in Turns 1 and 2 but I was really good in Turns 3 and 4. I just needed to be that much closer. I needed the 02 (Tyler Dippel) to be behind me, a little bit closer to give that push, but so close, two seconds in a row for our season.”
The second-place finish was Creed’s second top-five this season.
Coming into the Corrigan Oil 200, ThorSport Racing driver Grant Enfinger knew he had an excellent chance to win the regular-season title giving him an automatic lock into the Playoffs, despite not winning a single race this year.
Only something catastrophic like not starting the race would have prevented the Alabama native from winning the title. Even though we’ve seen crazier things in NASCAR, Enfinger was able to fire up his truck and was declared the regular-season champion.
“It’s been a hard road for the most weekends out of the year but I feel like we’re making the most out of every opportunity,” Enfinger said to MRN Radio. “I think God has blessed us with everything we need, everything we wanted.”
“We’ve been close to some checkered flags but today was not one of them. We still overcame a lot from yesterday. We had a terrible F-150 yesterday but we had a good one today, capable of running up front. Really big to get this regular-season championship for the driver points, as well as the owner points. That’s a big deal for the Playoffs. I can’t say thank you enough to Duke and Rhonda Thorson, everybody at ThorSport Racing. LTI Printing who came on this weekend, Champion Power Equipment, Curb Records, Protect The Harvest, everyone who lets us do this.”
This is the first time in Enfinger’s career that he has won the regular-season championship.
He finished sixth and third in both stages in the Corrigan Oil 200 to complete what has been a successful season so far for the Alabama native. He has earned seven top fives and 13 top-10 finishes along with two poles and 236 laps led.
Enfinger will be seeded second when the Playoffs begin Thursday night, August 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also is seeded second in the owners’ championship.
In an overtime restart, Austin Hill in No. 16 Hattori Racing Toyota was able to hold off Sheldon Creed and Tyler Dippel for his second win of the 2019 season.
“I definitely didn’t want to do a green-white-checkered; we were kind of close on fuel,” Hill told MRN Radio. “I got a really good push out the back by the 18 (Harrison Burton), kind of propelled us and put us out front, then I just started to throw blocks and luckily, they were racing two and three wide out back and kind of gave us a gap out front, we were able to keep that gap.”
“I thought the 2 (Sheldon Creed) was going to have a shot at it going into (Turn) 3, he got a really big run but we were able to protect that bottom because that’s the lane he was trying to go. Can’t thank Hino, AISIN enough for coming on board.”
It was the regular-season finale Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway for the Truck Series regulars. Drivers like Sheldon Creed, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, Tyler Dippel, Gus Dean and Ben Rhodes had one more shot to make it into the Playoffs with a win.
Fan-favorite Ross Chastain sat on the pole in his No. 45 Niece Motorsports truck with Christian Eckes on the outside pole. Playoff potential Matt Crafton had issues with his clutch during qualifying and made an engine change to be the cautious side, therefore had to start in the back.
Stages were broken into 20/20/60 to make up the 100 lap race.
Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 20
Nothing major happened in Stage 1 to bring out the caution. However, Tyler Ankrum and Austin Wayne Self were posted for a start violation and both were black flagged and had to serve a pass-through penalty.
Norm Benning never had the chance to get his truck started when the command to Start Your Engines was issued. Benning unfortunately had to sit out for the rest of the race, not completing a single lap and wound up 32nd.
Chastain went on to lead every lap in Stage 1 to take the stage win. Ben Rhodes, Eckes, Bret Moffitt, Todd Gilliland, Grant Enfinger, Austin Hill, Harrison Burton, Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton rounded out the top-10 finishers in the first stage.
With his consistency throughout the season, Enfinger was able to lock up the regular-season title by just starting the race.
A melee broke out on pit road during the stage break. The No. 9 of Codie Rohrbaugh was trying to pull into his pit for a scheduled pit stop but made contact with Chastain and Sauter who were trying to pull out at the same time. Chastain suffered major damage from the incident and would wind up not finishing the race.
Gilliland was sent to the rear for a crew member over the wall too soon. Wayne Self was also sent to the rear for passing on the left on pit road.
Stage 2: Lap 27- Lap 40
Only one incident brought out the caution during the second stage on Lap 32 as Christian Eckes spun off Turn 2 due to a flat tire. This would be the only caution during Stage 2.
With Chastain out of the race, Moffitt played pit strategy by staying out and taking the lead going into Turn 1 with three laps to go. Moffitt hung on to win Stage 2.
Hill, Enfinger, Jordan Anderson, Rhodes, Self, Dean, Gilliland, Creed and Bayley Currey rounded out the top-10 finishers for the second stage.
There were no incidents during the stage break on pit road.
Stage 3: Lap 47- Lap 105
There were a few laps of green flag racing before the caution flew once again on Lap 56. This time it was the No. 04 of Cory Roper who slapped the Turn 2 wall and suffered right rear damage. Roper would eventually be out of the race with a broken track bar. He finished a disappointing 28th. TJ Bell who was driving the No. 38 Niece Motorsports truck was also out for the rest of the day due to a mechanical issue. Hill was sent to the rear for speeding on pit road.
Moffitt and Self stayed out under caution to assume the lead. However, neither could make it on fuel and would be six laps short to finish if the race remained green the rest of the way. But, another caution broke out on Lap 65 for Rohrbaugh, who spun off the exit of Turn 4. This saw race leaders Moffitt and Self pit under caution with Sauter also making a pit stop.
The race had a short green flag run until 15 laps to go when Eckes found trouble once again with a right rear flat that went down causing him to spin out. During the green flag run, Rhodes suffered a flat tire, ending any chance to compete for the championship.
The restart came with 10 laps to go and it was crunch time for many drivers who needed a win and were close on fuel for the finish. Fortunately, some of those drivers caught a break with another caution flying again for Eckes with eight to go.
This set up a restart with four to go that saw Ankrum, Hill, Crafton and Moffitt in the top spots. When the restart came Crafton accidentally pushed Ankrum a little too hard which then sent him spinning in front of the field collecting Natalie Decker, Alfredo and Sauter. The DGR-Crosley drivers had the most damage with Sauter able to pull away.
With the wreck, the race went into overtime with five extra laps added to the originally advertised distance. Despite the overtime finish and drivers like Dippel and Creed giving it one last shot, the Winston, Georgia native was able to hang on and win for the second time this season.
“Our Toyota Tundra was really fast today, Hill said.”We had to come from the back. I sped on pit road, had issues on getting the right front tire off all day long. We had to fight a lot of adversity. This is a brand new truck for us, to be able to go one for one with it, it’s an awesome way to start this truck off. With playoffs being next week, this gives us a confidence booster going forward.”
There were 11 lead changes among 17 lead changes with eight cautions for 35 laps.
Playoff Seedings
Brett Moffitt
Grant Enfinger -3
Stewart Friesen -8
Ross Chastain -10
Austin Hill -10
Matt Crafton -11
Johnny Sauter -13
Tyler Ankrum -17
Official Results
Austin Hill
Sheldon Creed
Tyler Dippel
Brett Moffitt
Austin Wayne Self
Bayley Currey
Grant Enfinger
Stewart Friesen
Ray Ciccarelli
Matt Crafton
Harrison Burton
Johnny Sauter
Gus Dean
Jordan Anderson
Christian Eckes
Trey Hutchens
Codie Rohrbaugh
Josh Reaume
Jennifer Jo Cobb
Joe Nemechek
Jesse Iwuji
Spencer Boyd
Ben Rhodes, Two laps down
Todd Gilliland, OUT, Crash
Tyler Ankrum, OUT, Crash
Anthony Alfredo, OUT, Crash
Natalie Decker, OUT, Crash
Cory Roper, OUT, Crash
T.J. Bell, OUT, Clutch
Ross Chastain, OUT, Crash
Camden Murphy, OUT, Vibration
Norm Benning, OUT, Engine
Up Next: The Round of Eight starts at Bristol Motor Speedway Thursday, August 15 live on Fox Sports 1.
This
weekend the Monster Energy Cup Series and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series head
to Michigan International Speedway while the Xfinity Series travels to the Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course.
Kevin
Harvick is the Cup Series defending race winner at the 2-mile track with only
four races remaining in the regular season. Brett Moffitt returns to defend his
Truck Series victory at Michigan in the final race to determine the regular
season champion. Justin Allgaier won the previous Xfinity Series race at
Mid-Ohio and with six races left in the Xfinity Series regular season will be
looking for his first victory this season.
All
times are Eastern.
Friday,
August 9
Michigan:
12:35 p.m.-1:25 p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN/MRN 1:35 p.m.-2:25 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series First Practice – No TV 3:05 p.m.-3:55 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Final Practice – No TV 5:05 p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Qualifying – Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions – NBCSN/MRN
Mid-Ohio:
1:35 p.m.-2:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – NBC
Sports App
4:05 p.m.-4:55
p.m.: Xfinity Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App
Saturday,
August 10
Michigan:
8:35 a.m.-9:25 a.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Second Practice – NBC Sports App/MRN 9:35 a.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Qualifying – Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions – FS2 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App/MRN 1 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Corrigan Oil 200 – (Stages 20/40/100 Laps = 200 Miles) – FS1/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/MRN
Mid-Ohio:
11:40 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – Multi-Vehicle/Two Rounds – NBC Sports App 3 p.m.: Xfinity Series B&L Transport 170 – (Stages 20/40/75 Laps = 169.35 Miles) – NBCSN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/MRN
Sunday, August 11
Michigan:
3
p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Consumers Energy 400 – (Stages 60/120/200 Laps = 400 Miles) NBCSN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/MRN
After a week of slinging dirt, the Truck Series regulars return to asphalt this weekend for their regular season finale at Michigan.
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series has quite possibly been the most exciting series all season long in the three touring series divisions of NASCAR. It is now crunch time for the drivers who have not won yet and are outside the playoffs.
Drivers like Matt Crafton, Ben Rhodes, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, Sheldon Creed, Tyler Dippel, Austin Wayne Self and Gus Dean all will be trying to fight for the remaining spots. One exception is championship points leader Grant Enfinger. Enfinger has a 52 point lead over his teammate Crafton in the standings and will clinch a spot in the playoffs by starting the race.
This means that more than likely, Enfinger will win the regular season championship title after Michigan. If Crafton wants to win the regular season championship, Enfinger would have to finish last and Crafton would have to win both stages and the race. It’s a tall order for the California native, but anything can happen in the world of NASCAR.
With all that said, here is a look at five drivers who might punch their ticket in victory lane Saturday afternoon, along with a look at the drivers who are on the outside looking in.
Ben Rhodes – With being in somewhat of a slump in the past few races, Michigan could be the track where Rhodes finds his confidence again and wins the race on Saturday potentially knocking someone out of the playoffs. In three races, Rhodes has a best finish of sixth twice (2016, 2018). The Kentucky native has led just four laps. Despite having some solid finishes, Rhodes will have to work on his qualifying game in order to have a shot at the win. His best qualifying effort is 14th that came in 2017. In terms of stage finishes, in 2017, Rhodes finished fourth in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2 while in 2018, he finished sixth in Stage 1. Keep an eye on Rhodes and his No. 99 ThorSport team who could be a winner on Saturday.
Stewart Friesen – Last week’s Eldora winner will need to continue his momentum in Michigan this weekend where he’s been decent at best. In two starts, the Canadian has a best finish of eighth in 2018 after starting fifth and leading 12 laps. Since Friesen only has two starts at the 1.5-mile track, his average finish is 10.5. He didn’t earn any stage finishes in 2017, but in 2018, Friesen was able to win Stage 1 and finish ninth in Stage 2. The Halmar Racing has been decent on 1.5-mile tracks this year where it’s either been second finish or bust for Friesen. Should Friesen win, the playoff standings will remain the way they are and no one else will get themselves in.
Todd Gilliland – A driver that could solidify themselves in the 2019 championship playoffs is Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Todd Gilliland. Gilliland only has one start that came in 2018 but started on the outside pole and finished fifth after leading eight laps. The KBM driver has stage finishes of third and eighth in his only start. In 2017, now Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell took the No. 4 truck to a second-place finish. Gilliland will be piloting chassis number KBM-04. “The No. 4 JBL team has prepared chassis KBM-041 for this weekend’s Corrigan Oil 200. This chassis was last used earlier this year by Gilliland at Dover and has been driven to one win by owner-driver Kyle Busch at Chicago in 2016. Gilliland will be in the playoffs if he wins Saturday’s race.
Grant Enfinger – Speaking of the regular series points leader, Enfinger just might nab his first win of the season at Michigan this weekend. It’s hard to believe that even though Enfinger has had consistent finishes, he has not won at all in 2019. The 1.5-mile track has seen the Alabama native finish inside the top-10 in all three of his starts with a best finish of seventh in 2018. Enfinger has also led 16 laps and has an average finish of 7.7. As far as stages go, Enfinger finished 10th in Stage 2 in 2017, while finishing fifth in Stage 1 and winning the second stage. There couldn’t be a better moment for Enfinger if he wins the race and the regular season championship Saturday afternoon. As far as clinch scenarios go, the Alabama native will clinch a spot by just starting the race.
Christian Eckes – One driver that might be an upset winner Saturday is Christian Eckes who will be driving the No. 51 once again this season. Eckes competed in last week’s race at Eldora where he finished sixth. At Michigan, however, Eckes will be making his first Truck Series start. Despite not having any Truck Series experience at the track, he does have one ARCA start where the KBM driver finished seventh after starting second. For the chassis. “The No. 51 SiriusXM team will unload chassis KBM-038 for Saturday’s Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway. This chassis has been raced 14 times and has ended up in Victory Lane in six outings. It was most recently raced to the win at Martinsville earlier this season by owner-driver Kyle Busch, and Chandler Smith started on the front row and finished eighth with it at Iowa in his first start. Noah Gragson, Christopher Bell and William Byron have all also had victories in this chassis.”
Drivers on the outside looking in:
1. Matt Crafton – Currently sitting second in the points, Crafton is on the bubble for the playoffs. It is hard to imagine that it’s been two years since the California native has won a race in the Truck Series. At Michigan, Crafton has 17 starts with a best finish of second in 2014. Other stats include 81 laps led, four DNFs, three top fives and eight top-10 finishes with an average finish of 13.9. Should there be no new winners or if his teammate Enfinger wins, Crafton will receive a spot in the playoffs. The only way he can race his way in on points is if he scores 53 points and Enfinger does not start the race, which is a tall task.
2. Harrison Burton – Burton has no starts at Michigan, which will put some added pressure to win the race on Saturday. As far as 1.5-mile racetracks go this season, he has four top-five and two top-10 finishes with a best finish of third multiple times. He will have to win in order to have a chance at the championship.
3. Sheldon Creed – Like Burton, Creed will have to win the race Saturday in order to compete for the championship. Even though his last couple of finishes did not go well at Kentucky and Pocono, Creed has been on the rise after Fort Worth in June. Creed has managed three top-10 finishes. No truck starts at Michigan for the GMS driver, but he does have three starts in the ARCA Series with a win in last year’s race. If Creed wants to make the playoffs, he will have to some luck and do what he did in the ARCA race last year.
4. Tyler Dippel – Michigan might be a learning curve for the Youngs Motorsports driver. Dippel has no track starts at the 1.5-mile speedway. He will have to reach deep down and pull off a wildcard upset to win the race Saturday. His finishes have been so-so at 1.5-mile tracks this season with a best finish of eighth at Texas in March. It would be an amazing story for Dippel and his team if they can make it, but they will need a lot of luck from other drivers circumstances.
5. Gus Dean – Win or bust for Dean and his No. 12 Youngs Motorsports team this weekend. Like Creed, Dean does have starts in the ARCA Series to his credit. His best finish at Michigan in ARCA is fourth in 2018 and he finished fifth in 2017.
Other drivers scheduled to compete this weekend includes Daniel Sasnett in the No. 0 for Jennifer Jo Cobb, Jordan Anderson returns to his own No. 3 after Carson Hocevar drove it at Eldora. Cory Roper will also return to the track in his own No. 04 team. It’s Roper first race back since his ninth-place finish at Fort Worth in June. Joe Nemechek is back in the No. 8 while Codie Rohrbaugh is in the No. 9. Trey Hutchens is in the No. 14, Anthony Alfredo in the No. 15 and Spencer Boyd is back in the No. 20 after sitting out Eldora due to injury.
Josh Reaume will compete in his own No. 33 machine, Jesse Iwuji in the No. 34, Bayley Currey returns in the Niece Motorsports No. 44, Ray Ciccarelli in the No. 49, Natalie Decker in the No. 54 and Camden Murphy in the No. 87.
Michigan International Speedway has hosted 19 races dating back to 1999. Greg Biffle, Travis Kvapil and Brett Moffitt have been the only repeat winners at the track. Other winners include Robert Pressley, Brendan Gaughan, Dennis Setzer, Johnny Benson, Erik Darnell, Colin Braun, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Nelson Piquet Jr, James Buescher, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace.
As far as stage winners go, Kyle Busch swept both stages in 2017 with Friesen winning Stage 1 and Enfinger winning Stage 2 in last year’s race.
For the manufacturer side of things, Toyota has the most wins with seven, Chevrolet and Ford have five wins each and Dodge has two.
Want to win at Michigan? The past five winners have seen the winner start as low as 21st and as high as fifth. Only once has the driver won from the pole position set by Kvapil in 2007. Moffitt won from the 21st starting spot in last year’s race. Otherwise, winners have come from the second, third, fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th starting positions.
Friday will see a day of practices for the Truck Series. First practice is set for 1:35 p.m. ET with final practice scheduled for 3:05 p.m.ET, both lasting 50 minutes. There will be no live TV coverage for either practice. Qualifying will be early Saturday morning at 9:35 a.m. ET live on Fox Sports 2.
The Corrigan Oil 200 is slated to take the green flag shortly after 1 p.m. ET live on Fox Sports 1 and MRN Radio. Stages will be broken into 20/40/100 to make up the 200-mile distance.
Among the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series rookies, DGR-Crosley driver Tyler Ankrum has already established his credentials as a contender by already scoring a victory when he won at Kentucky in July. Afterward, he followed his win with a runner-up finish at Pocono and a ninth-place run at Eldora. He now heads into the Michigan race weekend with a solid spot in the NGOTS Playoffs and is poised for a solid run for the Homestead finale.
SM:You established your crendetials as a top rookie contender with your win at Kentucky, followed by a runner-up finish at Pocono and a ninth-place run at Eldora. That said, how do your feel about your odds winning the Rookie of the Year battle against fellow rookies like Sheldon Creed and Harrison Burton?
Ankrum: I think they’re really good. With Michigan being the last race of the regular season, both Sheldon and Harrison have to win to make it into the Playoffs.
To be frank, Sheldon’s showed a lot of speed on these mile-and-a-half and two-mile race tracks, so I think his odds are pretty good. I’m not too sure about Burton; [Kyle Busch Motorsports] as a whole has struggled all year. But overall, they’re both great racers and both are going to have equal opportunities and equal chances to make it in. I think our chances are really good, and going into Michigan all we’ll really need to do is to keep on doing what we’ve been doing.
SM: Now that you’ve solidified your spot in the NGOTS Playoffs, have you updated any of your previous goals in regards to your Playoff campaign?
Ankrum: No. At the beginning of the year our goal was to go win a championship. The goals have stayed the same. We’re aiming high, and that’s how we’re going to continue to push forward and continue to run up front like we have been doing these past few weeks.
SM: Considering that DGR-Crosley is still somewhat new in the NASCAR garage, how did it feel scoring their first national touring series victory?
Ankrum: Oh, it’s awesome because David [Gilliland, team owner] gave me the opportunity to drive Late Models when I was first getting started in stock cars, then he gave me the same opportunity in his K&N car, and now he’s doing it in the trucks. It’s pretty special for me, and I’m super thankful for all the help I’ve had along the way.
SM: Who do you feel is your toughest competition on the track right now?
Ankrum: That’s pretty tough because the truck series is so competitive right now. This is the most competitive it’s been in a really long time; the top 15 trucks have a chance to win every week and whenever they show up.
The greatest competition right now? I’d have to say either the GMS Racing or ThorSport trucks. It’s either going to be Brett Moffitt or Grant Enfinger, Stewart Friesen (Friesen drives a GMS satellite truck), Ben Rhodes or Matt Crafton even though they’ve struggled a little bit this year. Those two teams alone right there have almost eight trucks, so competition has been real stiff. But I think we can hang with them. We’ve been hanging with them the past few weeks. We’ve been doing things a lot different in the race shop, been making a lot of improvements on our equipment and I’m really proud of what we’ve done.
Just going forward, I have the utmost confidence in our guys and I think they have confidence in me, so at this point we’re starting to really figure things out. I think they’ll have to worry about us more than we’ll have to worry about them.
SM: Due to some sponsorship issues you had to step away and run a couple of races for Joe Nemechek at NEMCO. How did that come about?
Ankrum: When we announced that I was no longer full-time, we knew that for me to maintain my points eligibility you have to participate or at least try in every race. It wasn’t about a day later that Joe Nemechek called me and offered me the opportunity to go drive one of his trucks at Iowa and Gateway. He so graciously let us drive that truck and I’m so thankful to him as well and there’s such great guys over there and they’re super easy to work with. Just super guys who were a blast to be with.
SM: Where do you feel your DGR-Crosley team has been the strongest in the 2019 campaign?
Ankrum: We haven’t run too many short tracks, but we’re really good on the mile-and-a-halfs. We’re really good on working on the setups to what I like and what I can drive to. We’re good at keeping our nose clean during long distances and staying out of everyone’s mess; it’s really been the key to our success to go on up there and try to win every race and not get too caught up in points.
Tyler Ankrum, driver of the No. 17 Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Buckle Up In Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway on July 11, 2019 in Sparta, Kentucky. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images.
SM: On that note, where do you as a driver feel your biggest strengths have been?
Ankrum: I feel like my ability to learn is one of my biggest strengths. I can go out there behind a truck on the race track and watch and see what he’s doing while also paying attention to what I’m doing. I feel like I can learn a lot better that way than I could learn on a simulator or watching film. Learning that way helps me a lot when I’m out inside the truck.
I also feel I can put my truck on the edge and leave it there. I feel like I can be consistent and smooth on the wheel, and I feel that’s what really makes a fast car or a fast truck. It’s easy to go out there and throw down a lap but it’s harder to go out there and do that lap after lap. I work on that quite a bit with myself and I think it’s been working so far.
SM: Inversely, where do you feel that you need the most work in regards to your on-track performance?
Ankrum: My restarts. My restarts are pretty poor. Really need to just figure out the transmission ratios for the most part, but I’ve been getting better these past few weeks. So the adjustments we’ve been making to the truck and to myself and just learning, it’s helped a lot.
SM: Going back to your recent streak of a win, a runner-up, and a ninth-place finish, that’s three strong runs on three different kinds of tracks. To what do you owe your performance to?
Ankrum: I would have to go back and owe that to my ability to learn. The ability to just take in as much as possible as fast as possible. Just the least amount of time working on the drivers and the most amount of time working on the truck and making it faster, with you making it faster along the way.
I appreciate [Crew Chief Kevin] “Bono” Manion. He’s huge, in that department he’s a genius. He just knows so much and he’s so knowledgeable it helps. Having all those guys in my corner, it’s huge.
SM: In regards to the Playoffs, there are those on social media who are quick to use you and Matt Crafton as two examples that the Playoffs are supposedly “flawed” towards “deserving” drivers: You started the season late, yet sit solidly in Playoff contention with the regular season finale at Michigan right around the corner, while Crafton sits second in points but could possibly miss out on the Playoffs if another series regular pulls off a surprise win. What’s your take on the assumption that some drivers are more “deserving” than others?
Ankrum: Well, I mean, I feel that that’s the one word everyone gets caught up on – “deserve” – right? No one deserves anything in this world. I don’t deserve someone’s love or respect; that’s why you earn things. I feel like once you earn something you deserve to have it. I feel like that’s what we’ve done this year.
We earned that win at Kentucky. With our hard work and blood, sweat, and tears we earned that win and earned our spot in the Playoffs. Even though I missed the first few races of the year, to me, that just meant I had to work harder to beat the rest. In my mind. Now, if that means that I don’t deserve it? That’s just a matter of opinion.
But my opinion, we earned it and in a way I feel we earned everyone’s respect because they have to take DGR-Crosley seriously now. I feel that, in a sense, means that we deserve to be in the Playoffs. Whether that means there’s a rule that you have to run the entire season, granted, I couldn’t do so because of my age, and once again I did also have to get a waiver.
I’ve seen a lot of the articles saying that NASCAR is abusing this rule because blah blah blah blah blah, I feel that it’s just keyboard warriors out there on Twitter just trying to make a story and stir the pot up. But that’s just my take. I don’t think anything in this world has to do with “deserve,” it has to do with earning and respect. That’s what I really out here trying to do, just earn my right to have everyone’s respect.
This weekend the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series travel to Michigan International Speedway for the second time this year. The Xfinity Series will compete at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course while you can compete at the best nz casino sites and win.
Kevin Harvick is the Cup Series defending race winner at the 2-mile track while Brett Moffitt returns to defend his Truck Series victory at Michigan. Justin Allgaier won the previous Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio and would be a good one to place a bet on to win.
The Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway will be televised live Sunday, August 11 beginning at 3 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Coverage of this week’s Mid-Ohio 170 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be televised live on Saturday, August 10, beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on NBCSN. It will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
All
times are Eastern.
Michigan
Friday, August 9
12:35 p.m.-1:25 p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN/MRN 1:35 p.m.-2:25 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series First Practice – No TV 3:05 p.m.-3:55 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Final Practice – No TV 5:05 p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Qualifying – Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions – NBCSN/MRN
Saturday, August 10
8:35 a.m.-9:25 a.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Second Practice – NBC Sports App/MRN 9:35 a.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Qualifying – Single Vehicle/One Lap All Positions – FS2 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App/MRN 1 p.m.: Gander Outdoors Truck Series Corrigan Oil 200 – (Stages 20/40/100 Laps = 200 Miles) – FS1/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/MRN
Sunday, August 11
3
p.m.: Monster Energy Cup Series Consumers Energy 400 – (Stages 60/120/200 Laps = 400 Miles) NBCSN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/MRN
Mid-Ohio
Friday, August 9
1:35 p.m.-2:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – NBC Sports App 4:05 p.m.-4:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series Final Practice – NBC Sports App
Saturday, August 10
11:40 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – Multi-Vehicle/Two Rounds – NBC Sports App 3 p.m.: Xfinity Series B&L Transport 170 – (Stages 20/40/75 Laps = 169.35 Miles) – NBCSN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/MRN
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby took place last Thursday night. It was the 15th race of the season for the truckers with only two races until the Playoffs begin at Bristol. Many drivers needed a good points day or a win to solidify themselves in the championship hunt. While it was a fun event, for the most part, some fans were not happy with how the race went down but they were happy with the outcome.
With that said, here are this week’s Four Takeaways From The Dirt Derby
Friesen finally gets win – A favorite among the dirt racing fans, the Canadian finally took the checkered flag last Thursday night. It was a popular win for Friesen and his fans who waited so long to get into victory lane. Something to note, during the post-race press conference, team owner Chris Larsen stated, “We started this out as something on the side, something else to do for fun.” Now they are winners and championship contenders in the Truck Series. It really is amazing to see how far Friesen and his No. 52 Halmar Racing team has come in the past four years since his first race at Eldora in 2016.
Too many cautions laps – This was certainly the talk of the night on Social Media among race fans and racers. There were way too many caution laps wasted especially late in the race. They could have gone back to racing with seven to go but didn’t resume until two to go. At the track, you could hear the fans voicing their opinion as it came across TV. To put it into perspective, there were 68 laps ran under caution. That’s 45% run under yellow with an average green flag run of 6.3 laps. I hope we never see this again, as it is one of the biggest races of the season in the Truck Series aside from Daytona, Talladega, Bristol and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
Not an exciting race – Speaking of Eldora, it really wasn’t that exciting compared to years past. While there is nothing wrong with Chase Briscoe winning both stages and leading 93 laps after starting on the pole, for some fans, it lacked some of the intensity that we usually see. There was only one lead change throughout the race and that came under caution, when Briscoe made a pit stop and Friesen stayed out. It was all about track position and it seemed like it was tough to pass and the second groove never came in.
Heated Tempers – You know that the Playoffs are on the horizon when tempers flare after the race is over. Ben Rhodes and Tyler Dippel had an altercation in the garage area due to on-track activity. The action has certainly been heating up over the past few weeks as drivers are trying to make the Playoffs and fight for a championship. It will definitely be interesting in the weeks to come, especially when the Playoffs began at Bristol.
Last Thursday, the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series visited Eldora Speedway for their 15th race of the season and saw an unfamiliar face in victory lane.
While some have criticized the race for not being as exciting as it has been in years past, some drivers earned a much-needed points day, others had a disappointing night and one finally got to victory lane.
Here’s a look at this week’s power rankings.
Stewart Friesen – Worst to first for Friesen in one week as he finally earned his first career win in four years and 63 starts after being so close multiple times. With the win, he finally locks himself into the Playoffs and could potentially be a threat in the postseason if he keeps this pace up. Friesen dominated the race leading 57 of the 150 laps, despite not winning any stages. It will be interesting to see if the Canadian can keep this run going and start to heat up when it counts. He can’t afford any more finishes like he had at Pocono the week before.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
Grant Enfinger – Enfinger came close to getting that elusive win on Thursday night after falling short in a close battle the year before. The No. 98 team placed third after starting 15th. While he didn’t lead any laps, Enfinger had a decent finish of fifth in the second stage. Coming out of Eldora, he still remains the regular-season points leader over teammate Matt Crafton by 52 points. With Michigan being the season finale this weekend, something catastrophic will have to happen to Enfinger in order for him not to win the regular title.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
Sheldon Creed – Creed almost became a wild card in last week’s race by coming up one spot short. He worked hard all night, finishing fourth in Stage 1 while not earning any stage points in Stage 2. Now, Creed will have to win on Saturday at Michigan in order to put himself in the Playoffs. The second-place finish was his first top-five of the season.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
Todd Gilliland – A much needed fourth place for Gilliland who came close to winning the Dirt Derby last Thursday. Still, it’s not going to be enough to point his way into the Playoffs without a lot of help. In the race, Gilliland started eighth, finished second in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2 while he finished fifth overall. He will have to have a great run on Saturday with some help from others to fight for the championship.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
Tyler Dippel – A somewhat surprising eighth-place finish for Dippel, who is really not a dirt expert. He bested last year’s finish of 13th to have his career-best finish last Thursday. Dippel finished ninth in Stage 2 before earning his second top-10 of the year. Unfortunately, it’s win or go home for Dippel and the No. 02 Youngs Motorsports team this week at Michigan.
Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
Fell Out
1. Ross Chastain – A difficult night for Chastain and his No. 45 Niece Motorsports team who finished 12th after being in the top five at one point in the race. The Floridian lead no laps and finished ninth, and sixth in both stages, respectively. It was a different week for Chastain after coming off a strong dominant win at Pocono the week before. However, he is locked into the Playoffs at this point sitting 14th in the regular-season standings with three wins.
Previous Week Ranking – First
2. Harrison Burton- Speaking of disappointing nights, it was one for Burton and his No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team. Burton caused a caution on Lap 57 when he spun on the backstretch collecting some damage to his truck. After the incident, Burton could never really rebound from it and wound up 31st.
Previous Week Ranking – Second
3. Brett Moffitt – A struggle for Moffitt and his No. 24 GMS Racing team after being involved in a big wreck in Turn 1 on Lap 65. Like Burton, Moffitt never had the chance to have a better finish and finished 29th after starting third. On the bright side, the Grimes, Iowa native did finish third in Stage 1 but did not earn any stage points in Stage 2. Moffitt looks forward to Michigan, the site where he won in a thrilling finish last year against Johnny Sauter making a last-lap pass.
Previous Week Ranking – Third
4. Tyler Ankrum- It was a ninth-place finish for Ankrum and the No. 17 DGR-Crosley team after starting 26th. The No. 17 team did not win any stage points despite their top-10 effort.
Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
5. Matt Crafton- Hard to believe, it’s been two years now without a win for Crafton and his No. 88 ThorSport Racing team. The California native started the night well on the outside pole but wound up with a 10th place finish. Crafton finished fifth and third in both stages, respectively. Still, the finish could probably have been somewhat better for the No. 88 team who is facing pressure to get into the Playoffs with just one race remaining.
Honorable Mention
1. Mike Marlar – Marlar earned a fourth-place finish in his first-ever career Truck Series start at Eldora after qualifying in the 23rd position. It’s the same truck that Josh Reaume owns and got them the publicity the team deserves. At one point, Marlar found himself contending for the lead but had to settle for a top five finish. He was able to finish eighth in Stage 2. It shouldn’t be surprising to dirt fans, however, as he competes regularly in the Super Late Model Racing Series. In fact, Marlar went to victory lane in Tennessee in the series just a few days after his Truck Series debut.
