Truck Series Driver Tyler Ankrum Wins NASCAR’s Triumphant Return To Rockingham Speedway

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Apr 18, 2025
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Tyler Ankrum at Rockingham
Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

Tyler Ankrum ended a long winless streak by kicking off what many hope will be a new era for NASCAR at Rockingham Speedway.

Ankrum won the Black’s Tire 200 Truck Series race with an amazing fuel saving strategy to pick up his first victory in 130 races dating back to Kentucky in 2019.

The race was NASCAR’s first at the The Rock since the last Truck Series race held there in 2013 and the fans were loving it. The grandstands were nearly full for the Friday evening event and are sold out for Saturday’s Xfinity Series/ARCA Menard’s Series East double-header. The recent efforts to revive that track appear to have paid off.

The race actually got off to a shaky start for Ankrum when he got loose on the first lap and tapped the turn three wall and ultimately went a lap down. Connor Mosack and Bayley Currey came together in the same spot on lap two to bring out the first and only caution of stage one, which was won by homestate favorite Layne Riggs, while Ankrum finished 23rd.

Tyler Ankrum at Rockingham Speedway
Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

Stage two ran without any cautions and was also won by Riggs, who had been contending with Jake Garcia, Caden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith and Corey Heim for most of the race.

The third stage saw two red flag periods for a Ty Majeski solo accident and another that eliminated Stewart Friesen, Tanner Gray and Matt Mills, all of whom were uninjured.

Rockingham Speedway
Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

That set up an 87-lap run to the finish that all of the leaders tried to do without pit stops, but Ankrum was the only one who stretched his fuel to the checkered flag as the others fell short, with Riggs having to stop with just five laps to go.

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“From the way this day started, going a lap down and Mark [Hillman, his crew chief] making the pit call to get the track position back and just saving fuel,” Ankrum said during his post-race interview on FS1.

Ankrum said he was running 60 percent throttle on the straight and doing his best to draft other trucks.

“Coming with six to go, I was like, I knew that was the number, I knew we were five (laps) short. I was hoping I had saved enough, and we did.”

In something of a coincidence, Ankrum’s first Truck Series win was also the result of a fuel saving strategy.

Full Results:

  1. (16)  Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 200.
  2. (1)  Jake Garcia, Ford, 200.
  3. (17)  Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200.
  4. (21)  Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 200.
  5. (19)  Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 200.
  6. (7)  Kaden Honeycutt, Chevrolet, 200.
  7. (24)  Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 200.
  8. (15)  Corey Heim, Toyota, 199.
  9. (4)  Connor Mosack #, Chevrolet, 199.
  10. (8)  Giovanni Ruggiero #, Toyota, 199.
  11. (5)  Layne Riggs, Ford, 199.
  12. (14)  Andres Perez De Lara #, Chevrolet, 199.
  13. (2)  Chandler Smith, Ford, 199.
  14. (28)  Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, 198.
  15. (31)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 198.
  16. (11)  Sammy Smith(i), Chevrolet, 197.
  17. (29)  Brandon Jones(i), Toyota, 196.
  18. (27)  Toni Breidinger #, Toyota, 196.
  19. (25)  Dawson Sutton #, Chevrolet, 196.
  20. (6)  Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 195.
  21. (26)  Timmy Hill, Toyota, 195.
  22. (18)  Corey Day(i), Chevrolet, 194.
  23. (30)  Frankie Muniz #, Ford, 176.
  24. (23)  Matt Crafton, Ford, 156.
  25. (22)  Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, Suspension, 147.
  26. (12)  Luke Fenhaus, Ford, Engine, 136.
  27. (35)  Cody Dennison, Ford, 131.
  28. (10)  Tanner Gray, Toyota, Accident, 117.
  29. (20)  Stewart Friesen, Toyota, Accident, 117.
  30. (13)  Matt Mills, Chevrolet, Accident, 117.
  31. (9)  Ty Majeski, Ford, Accident, 109.
  32. (3)  Ben Rhodes, Ford, Steering, 71.
  33. (33)  Stephen Mallozzi, Ford, Suspension, 41.
  34. (32)  Justin Carroll, Toyota, Too Slow, 34.
  35. (34)  Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Too Slow, 17.