Tyler Ankrum will move to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, and the 22-year-old will pilot the No. 18 Chevrolet Silverado RST for the organization.
Veteran crew chief Mark Hillman will serve as the crew chief for Ankrum. The young racer is pumped for his new opportunity.
“Joining MHR for 2024 is an exciting next step for me and a great opportunity,” Ankrum said. “Both teams showed a ton of speed and versatility in 2023, and the results were there to show for it. I’m looking forward to working with Mark (Hillman) and his team and looking forward to being teammates with Christian (Eckes), Jack (Wood), and Daniel (Dye). I want to get back to the playoffs and I know the potential is there at MHR to accomplish that next year.”
According to a press release from the team on Thursday, Ankrum’s longtime primary sponsorship partner LiUNA! will move with him and serve as the primary sponsor for 21 of the 23 races in 2024.
The team released a render of Ankrum’s 2024 LiUNA! paint scheme on Thursday:
Enter Ankrum! @TylerAnkrum joins our @NASCAR_Trucks lineup in the newly renumbered No. 18!
Full Details ?? https://t.co/rjkXSfroDD#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/5439skMPzn
— Bill McAnally Racing (@BMR_NASCAR) December 7, 2023
Ullico (The Union Labor Life Insurance Company), which is the only labor-owned insurance and investment company, will serve as the primary partner of the No. 18 machine for the remaining two races on the schedule.
The addition of Ankrum to the McAnally-Hilgemann stable continues the trajectory of great performance and growth of the organization overall, which has been steady since its NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut.
Heading into the 2024 season, MHR will have four NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entries.
“We’re really glad to have Tyler join the team as we continue to grow in 2024,” team owner Bill McAnally said. “Tyler has shown he can get the job done at this level, and we want to get him back in the playoffs and be a strong contender this year. Surrounding him with Mark (Hillman) and the No. 35 team from last season will be a great fit for Tyler and we’re excited he’s joining our expanding program.”
Ankrum, who spent the last two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series seasons with Hattori Racing Enterprises, finished 17th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship standings in 2023. He was 12th the season before.
Ankrum finished a career-best eighth in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship standings in 2019 while driving for the team that is now known as TRICON Garage. Ankrum scored the lone win of his career that season.
Overall, Ankrum has 10 top-five finishes, and 38 top-10s in 113 career starts in NCTS competition.
