NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Tyler Ankrum recently sat down with FOX Sports ahead of the Round of Eight of the playoffs. During the pre-race interview, Ankrum explained how preparing for the upcoming playoff round plays a crucial role in securing a spot in the finals.The McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver advanced to Round Eight after securing a top-ten finish and two top-20 finishes. He wrapped up the first race of the Round of 10 at Darlington Raceway in P7. He then secured a P20 finish at Bristol Motor Speedway after qualifying in P3, and achieved an 11th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.Reflecting on his advancement to Round Eight, Tyler Ankrum claimed that if drivers can survive the Round of 10, they have a real shot at the Championship Four race at Phoenix. He further pointed out that the four drivers competing in the Truck Series race may not be the fastest all season but rather those who performed well under the stress of playoff rounds.Following that, the #18 Chevy driver told Fox Sports:"The preparation probably means the most for those races. If you can get yourself through the round ten with those three races, you have a real shot at making Phoenix. There's a real potential possibility that you see the top four that go to Phoenix weren't the best trucks all year long. so it's gonna be a wild pressure."Both Tyler Ankrum and Ty Majeski have no points difference and will have a head-to-head competition in the first race of the Round of Eight. Furthermore, the Ecosave 250 is scheduled for Friday, October 3, 2025, at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course."You start to think you might not be able to do it again": Tyler Ankrum speaks about his win in six yearsNASCAR Truck Series driver Tyler Ankrum broke his six-year dry spell this season. In April he won the Black's Tire 200 at Rockingham Speedway and shared his views on his first victory in years.The #18 Chevy driver qualified 16th for the 200-lap race with a best time of 22.50 seconds, achieving a top speed of 150.43 mph. He was 0.45 seconds behind the pole sitter, Jake Garcia, and struggled throughout both stages. Ankrum initially made contact with the wall and lost some ground, finishing both stages outside of the top-20 drivers on the track.Tyler Ankrum took the lead with 30 laps to go in the race and led 29 laps in total in the 200-lap race. Reflecting on his comeback, the Truck Series told the media:"You know, you don't do it for so long, you start to think you might not be able to do it again......It's hard you know, I was told as a kid that the easy part is getting bucked off, the hard part is getting back on. I think this is us finalizing us getting back on so I just can't thank everyone enough." (via SiriusXM)Tyler Ankrum ranks fifth in the Truck Series points table, with 3010 points on his account. He has secured one win, 12 top-tens, and eight top-fives in 21 starts this season. Additionally, he has led 102 laps with an average finish of 11.048.