NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Tyler Ankrum’s team made the call not to pit at the start of the second stage last Saturday at North Wilkesboro Speedway, after placing P7 following the opening stage of the 250-lap event.
The move didn’t pay full dividends.
It didn’t hurt the No. 18 Chevrolet too much, though, finishing P3. A playoff qualifier, Ankrum’s miscalculation may have cost him a chance at his second win of the season. After staying on the track, Ankrum engaged in a three-way battle for the lead. He eventually settled for a run in the top five, but couldn’t overcome Chandler Smith in overtime. The race winner earned the lead after Layne Riggs spun out Corey Heim along Turn 2 during the chaotic finish at the 0.625-mile track.
Heim, the Series points leader, and Riggs, Smith’s teammate at Front Row Motorsports, had words after the race.
Smith’s tires were 68 laps fresher. It was the only lap he led.
“I feel like this place, tires kind of mattered, but they also kind of didn’t,” Smith said, per NASCAR.com. “That last restart, I did everything but the right thing. My teammate, Layne Riggs, executed perfectly, and we came out on the right end of the stick.”
Coming off his seventh top-five finish in 10 starts, Ankrum enters the holiday weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway ranked fourth in the drivers’ standings with 357 points, 93 behind Heim.
.@TylerAnkrum and the No. 18 team chose to come down pit road under caution for four tires, fuel and a slight trackbar adjustment.
Restart P13 pic.twitter.com/tA9ZboKv9a
— Bill McAnally Racing (@BMR_NASCAR) May 17, 2025
NASCAR National Series, ARCA Weekend Schedule
Here is a list of NASCAR National Series and ARCA Menards Series events this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway (All Times ET):
Friday
- 1:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series practice
- 2:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series qualifying
- 3:35 p.m.: Truck Series practice
- 4:40 p.m.: Truck Series qualifying
- 6 p.m.: ARCA Menards General Tire 150 race
- 8:30 p.m.: Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200 race
Saturday
- 11:05 a.m.: Xfinity Series practice
- 12:10 p.m.: Xfinity Series qualifying
- 1:30 p.m.: Cup Series practice
- 2:40 p.m.: Cup Series qualifying
- 4:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series BetMGM 300 race
Sunday
- 12:45 p.m.: 109th Indianapolis 500 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- 6 p.m.: Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 race
Let the camping begin! 😎🏕️#THORFamilyofCompanies | #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/GIEWvW6WS9
— Charlotte Motor Speedway (@CLTMotorSpdwy) May 19, 2025
NASCAR Truck Series N.C. Education Lottery 200 Entry List
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series officials released the entry list for Friday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Brandon Jones, No. 1 Toyota
- 2, Stefan Parsons, No. 02 Chevrolet
- 3, Cody Dennison, No. 2 Ford
- 4, Toni Breidinger, No. 5 Toyota
- 5, BJ McLeod, No. 07 Chevrolet
- 6, Kyle Busch, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 7, Grant Enfinger, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 8, Corey Heim, No. 11 Toyota
- 9, Jake Garcia, No. 13 Ford
- 10, Tanner Gray, TRICON Garage, No. 15 Toyota
- 11, Giovanni Ruggiero, No.17 Toyota
- 12, Tyler Ankrum, No. 18 Chevrolet
- 13, Daniel Hemric, No. 19 Chevrolet
- 14, Mason Maggio, No. 22 Ford
- 15, Dawson Sutton, No. 26 Chevrolet
- 16, Frankie Muniz, No. 33 Ford
- 17, Layne Riggs, No. 34 Ford
- 18, Chandler Smith, No. 38 Ford
- 19, Matt Mills, No. 42 Chevrolet
- 20, Ross Chastain, No. 44 Chevrolet
- 21, Kaden Honeycutt, No. 45 Chevrolet
- 22, Stewart Friesen, No. 52 Totota
- 23, Timmy Hill, No. 56 Toyota
- 24, Luke Fenhaus, No. 66 Ford
- 25, Rajah Caruth, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 26, Parker Kligerman, No. 75 Chevrolet
- 27, Spencer Boyd, No. 76 Chevrolet
- 28, Andres Perez De Lara, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 29, Connor Mosack, No. 81 Chevrolet
- 30, Matt Crafton, No. 88 Ford
- 31, Justin Carroll, No. 90 Chevrolet
- 32, Jack Wood, No. 91 Chevrolet
- 33, Ty Majeski, No. 98 Ford
- 34, Ben Rhodes, No. 99 Ford
Watch the caution with 5 laps remaining in today’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series #WindowWorld250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway!
#99 Ben Rhodes (@benrhodes) makes contact with #1 Brent Crews (@BrentCrews11). Rhodes is a two-time Trucks Series champion and Crews was making his… pic.twitter.com/IhLWFO2ClH
— JBS Racing (@JBSRacing_) May 17, 2025
