AVONDALE, Ariz. – Just a couple of Craftsman Truck Series seasons ago, Tyler Ankrum wasn’t sure if he’d get another elite opportunity. His time was dwindling, thinking his run in NASCAR was drying up.
“At the end of 2023, I was like, ‘I’m going to work on the ranch’ and Bill [McAnally] called,” Ankrum stated on Thursday at Championship 4 Media Day. “My partners had interest in continuing being partners in the sport and to roll that into 2024.
“It’s something you think about every single year, whether you’re having a successful year or not. Everything is predicated on partnerships. I would not be doing this if I didn’t have partners like Chevrolet and LiUNA. If I didn’t have them in my corner, I would not be here. I would be somewhere with a weed whacker in my hand or my arm up a cow’s rear end.”
The fear of not competing was 100% instilled in Ankrum. The numbers back that belief, as he had a single top five in two seasons combined with Hattori Racing Enterprises. He had a whopping 14 top-10 finishes across those 46 starts. The No. 18 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing team has more than that in 2025 combined (15).
It was soon into his McAnally tenure in 2024 that Ankrum felt like he belonged. The four-truck organization wanted his input in how to move the company forward, even while his teammate Christian Eckes was amid one of the most consistent seasons in series history. If you drive for McAnally, your voice is wanted.
“The past four years were rough,” Ankrum stated. “But going to MHR and seeing the culture they built and provide in that building was a culture I never experienced before. I was able to put the finishing touches on me being a driver.
“To go to MHR and be treated as a key part of the organization was a huge help for me and to really understand myself as a driver and grow myself and build myself around my team has been huge for the past two years. I think it’s proven it with us being in the final four now.”
Ankrum came out of the bat strong in 2024, tallying a career-high six top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. He tied his 2020 number in average finish at 13.4. Having familiarity with the No. 18 team led by crew chief Mark Hillman gave the California native added confidence entering year two with the same organization.
The 2025 season has been highlighted by a victory in April at Rockingham Speedway, snapping a 130-race winless streak dating back to 2019 at Kentucky Speedway. It set the new record for the longest drought ever broken in series history.
While Ankrum has yet to feel the thrill of Victory Lane again in 2025, the No. 18 team has been among the most consistent trucks with an average finishing position of 10.7, ranking fourth of full-time competitors. He trails fellow Championship 4 competitors Corey Heim (5.2) and Ty Majeski (10.2). Ankrum has also set career highs in top fives (eight) and top 10s (15). His top 10s are tied with Layne Riggs, Chandler Smith and McAnally teammate Daniel Hemric for the third-most in the series.
“The foundation of us getting to the [Championship 4] started at the beginning of the year with how hot and fast we started off in getting that win,” Ankrum said. “Having that dismal summer two years in a row but picking the performance back up at the start of the playoffs. It wasn’t given to us, we had to fight for it.”
Finishing ninth last weekend at Martinsville Speedway was good enough to qualify for the Championship 4 by one point. He was tied with Majeski for second, while Kaden Honeycutt advanced via tiebreaker over Riggs, a three-time victor in 2025.
Having a successful 2025 season outweighs the struggle of getting to this level. Ultimately, Ankrum believes he is among the people to blame for his gloomy performances in previous years.
“Part of it was immaturity on my part being so new to the sport at the time and not knowing where I needed to be and what I needed as a driver,” he stated. “Not making the best business decisions. A lot of it comes down to the system that you find yourself in. You see it a lot in sports where you can find a super talented guy but you don’t put him in the right system and he won’t be able to perform. I think what I started out with early in my career was a really good system and we got off that path. Going back to MHR and find the system I’m comfortable with and I can perform really well in, I think that’s been a big part of it.
“I do look at my Hattori years as my most important years for my career to build my foundation as a driver. Not having the camera on me, not having the attention on me. Then to go to MHR and that first year unlearn and deprogram all the negative stuff and unlearn all the bad stuff and relearn the good stuff. It’s something I haven’t really talked about, but it was a pretty big jump to go from Hattori to MHR.”
Should Ankrum play spoiler on Friday evening at Phoenix Raceway to Heim’s dominant season, Majeski’s championship defense or the feel-good story of Honeycutt, he will drive to a Chevrolet dealership over the weekend and buy a new Camaro.