For the first time in their history, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing will field as many as four Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2024. Besides the #19 of Christian Eckes and the new #43 of newcomer Daniel Dye, the team has renumbered their #35 to #18 for the incoming Tyler Ankrum. They will also have the #91 for Jack Wood in fourteen races.
Ankrum returns to Chevrolet after spending the last two years in a Toyota with Hattori Racing Enterprises. He finished seventeenth in points in 2023 with six top tens and a best run of fourth at COTA, but placed outside the top twenty in the final four races while his final championship standing was five spots worse than in 2022. As such, he hopes the change of scenery will help him bounce back.
He was a Chevrolet driver in 2020 and 2021 at the now-defunct GMS Racing. He made the 2020 playoffs where he was eliminated after the second round and settled for ninth.
“Joining MHR for 2024 is an exciting next step for me and a great opportunity,” said Ankrum. “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, crew chief) and his team and looking forward to being teammates with Christian, Jack, and Daniel. I want to get back to the playoffs and I know the potential is there at MHR to accomplish that next year.”
Hillman and the #35 team remain as part of the transition. The #35 was driven by rookie Jake Garcia in 2023, who finished thirteenth in points before departing for ThorSport Racing.
“We’re really glad to have Tyler join the team as we continue to grow in 2024,” said team owner Bill McAnally. “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 and the #35 team from last season will be a great fit for Tyler and we’re excited he’s joining our expanding programme.”
Wood was a Truck Series full-timer for GMS in 2022 before racing a limited slate in 2023 for Kyle Busch Motorsports, scoring a pair of top tens with the latter. Besides his fourteen-race schedule in the #91, he will race for the 2024 ARCA Menards Series West title with McAnally.
“It’s a great chance to reestablish myself in the West Series, focus on racing for a title and continuing to compete on the Truck side also,” commented Wood. “Having Kevin (Bellicourt, crew chief) with me in both series is going to be a huge help to build consistency, and I’m looking forward to balancing both programs next season.”
