Tyler Ankrum is officially out of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship hunt for 2026, even after he nearly snatched his first victory of the season at Talladega. The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver snagged a second-place finish, but that razor-thin margin wasn’t enough to keep his title hopes alive.
So Close, Yet So Far at Talladega
Dude, this race was wild. Ankrum, in his No. 18 Chevrolet, started seventh at the Love’s RV Stop 225 at Talladega Superspeedway and was just *on it* all afternoon. He was threading through those crazy shifting drafting lanes like a champ, while other title contenders were just falling apart with “significant problems.” He stuck with the leading group through the final stage and even got a shot at victory when the race went into overtime. He restarted right up front, kept that momentum, and found himself in an insane four-wide sprint to the checkered flag alongside Austin Green, Ty Majeski, and Kaden Honeycutt. Can you even imagine that?
The Finish That Ended Everything
Ultimately, Sammy Smith took the win, but only by a ridiculous 0.091 seconds. Get this though: Ankrum edged out Austin Green for second place by a mind-boggling 0.002 seconds. Like, that’s literally nothing! It was his seventh top-10 finish of the season and his fourth top-10 at Talladega. He banked 35 points, which is solid, but the standings just didn’t fall his way. He’s sitting ninth in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase standings with 2,157 points, and Kaden Honeycutt, the championship leader, is now 214 markers ahead of him. That gap means his championship run is officially over for 2026. Rough.
What’s Next for Ankrum
Even though the big trophy is out of reach, Ankrum definitely showed some serious fight at Talladega. You gotta think he’s looking to carry that momentum forward. He’s still got Martinsville and Homestead-Miami coming up, and you know he’s gonna want to build on that strong performance. Go out there and win one, man!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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