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Tyler Ankrum returning to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 2026 after Championship 4 appearance

JHby: Jonathan Howard11/06/25Jondean25

Fresh off his Championship 4 appearance in the Craftsman Truck Series, Tyler Ankrum is heading back to the No. 18. McAnally-Hilgemann Racing announced Ankrum as their first driver back for the 2026 NASCAR season.

The orange and blue LiUNA! colors are going to be back in NASCAR for 2026. This year, Ankrum snapped his winless streak in a victory at Rockingham. He then went on to race his way to Phoenix in the Championship 4.

While Ankrum has completed seven full-time seasons in the Truck Series (he missed races in 2019 due to age restrictions), he’s still only 24 years old, folks. He just had the best season of his career, which included a win and a five-race top-five finish streak. He’s back for more!

Next season, a new batch of talented racers will be in the Truck Series. We don’t know how good those Ram Trucks will be. But I like Ankrum’s chances of keeping the momentum up and having another successful year in 2026.

Eight top five finishes this season and only one DNF at Daytona to start the year had Tyler Ankrum in the best position of his career when the NASCAR Playoffs rolled around. I think that he hoped for a much better playoff season, but with how dominant Corey Heim was, it wasn’t going to matter much, anyway.

Speed became an issue late in the season, as the championship race showed. Still, a solid year for Ankrum as he continues to grow and develop.

Tyler Ankrum continues to get better in the Truck Series

You could argue that Tyler Ankrum took a step up when McAnally-Hilgemann Racing as a whole took a step back. Things changed at MHR when Christian Eckes left. There was turnover on the team from 2024 to 2025, but it ended up being a positive year for the 18 group.

We don’t know who is going to join Ankrum yet at MHR. Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports says he saw Eckes hanging out with his old MHR crew in Phoenix last week. Kaulig Racing will not have an Xfinity program in 2026, so it will be looking for a new home, or perhaps looking to return to an old one.

It is clear that Eckes is talented enough to win a championship in the Truck Series. He was the most consistent driver in the 2024 season and won a handful of races in a really great battle between himself and Corey Heim. If he comes back in 2026, I’d suspect he’d be a championship favorite.

We are likely going to see a lot of new and familiar faces in the Truck Series next year. Ram Trucks brings a whole new element to things. Drivers in the Xfinity Series are likely coming back down for various rides, and we should see a new young gun or two as well. Just over 100 days until Daytona, folks!