Tyler Ankrum finally broke his long winless streak in the NASCAR Truck Series by claiming victory at Rockingham Speedway on Friday night, marking his second career win after 130 starts. The win came in dramatic fashion as Ankrum managed to stretch his fuel for 88 laps—longer than any of his closest rivals, who all ran dry and had to pit. He took the lead with 29 laps to go after a green flag run forced contenders Corey Heim and Gio Ruggiero to stop for fuel.
“We definitely stole one tonight,” Ankrum admitted. After running 22nd at the end of Stage 2, he caught a lucky break by getting back on the lead lap thanks to a caution. Crew chief Mark Hillman made a bold pit call that helped regain track position, and from there, it was all about conserving fuel.
“With six laps to go, we were still five laps short, so I just hoped I had saved enough,” said Ankrum, who credited drafting behind Matt Crafton and lifting off the throttle 60% down the straights to stretch his fuel.
The victory mirrored his first win back in 2019 at Kentucky during his rookie season. He called the years since then “challenging” and expressed gratitude to his longtime sponsors for sticking by him.
Earlier in the race, Ty Majeski crashed on Lap 109 after contact with Grant Enfinger, triggering a red flag to repair the SAFER Barrier. Majeski took responsibility and apologized to his team.
The next restart saw a major wreck involving Tanner Gray, Stewart Friesen, and Matt Mills. It began when Rajah Caruth got loose, causing Friesen to check up and get rear-ended. Friesen, disheartened, expressed doubts about continuing in the series, questioning whether the emotional toll is still worth it.
Top 5 Results:
1. Tyler Ankrum (#18) – 200 laps
2. Jake Garcia (#13) – 200 laps
3. Daniel Hemric (#19) – 200 laps
4. Rajah Caruth (#71) – 200 laps
5. Grant Enfinger (#9) – 200 laps
