LIUNA to Sponsor NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at Milwaukee Mile
LIUNA and the Wisconsin Laborers’ District Council have been named the entitlement sponsor by Track Enterprises for the return of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the historic Milwaukee Mile. The LIUNA 175 on Sunday, August 25th will be the first race of the Truck Series playoffs.
"On behalf of the 9,000 skilled, working men and women of the Wisconsin Laborers' District Council, who build our state’s infrastructure, we are honored to have NASCAR return to the Milwaukee Mile and be the title partner for this year's LIUNA 175,” said Kent Miller, President/Business Manager of the Wisconsin Laborers’ District Council. “We felt the power of our membership last year with almost 600 strong in the grandstands, and this year we expect over 1,000 members and their families to attend and cheer on our union brother, Tyler Ankrum, in the No. 18 LIUNA Chevrolet Silverado.
Photo Credit: Jeff Ames
With all those union members and their families rooting for him, the 23-year-old Ankrum, now in his fifth full-season in the truck series, admits he’s already feeling a little pressure to bring home a win.
“Yeah, I've already called my crew chief, Mark Hillman. I said put the cattle guard on the front of that truck. Make sure that bumper is strong because we're probably going to need it to win this race. I want to win this one bad.
“I've been partnered with LIUNA now for five years,” added Ankrum. “This will be the fifth year and they recognize the value of NASCAR and the market in which it brings and to be a part of NASCAR. It's a very niche market. And LIUNA itself is a very niche market. And so what NASCAR provides for LIUNA is a great benefit to them when it comes to not only just viewership numbers and all the numbers from TV, the grandstands, social media and all, that's great, but what they really want to see is recruitment. They really want to grow their numbers. Brian Booker, our VP really wants to get to a million members. We're 520,000, almost 530,000 strong right now. And we want to get that number up. We want to make it stronger. And we can really do that with NASCAR.”
Photo Credit: Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images
Bob Sargent, President of Track Enterprises, the event promoter said, “We are extremely excited to have LIUNA and its proud Wisconsin LIUNA members join us and become our title sponsor for the return of NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series to the Milwaukee Mile. It takes a lot of effort to promote the kick-off race in the Truck Series playoffs, and our fans deserve it after last year’s successful event. Sunday, August 25th will be a special race day with all of the Wisconsin LIUNA members and their families in the grandstands to witness the LIUNA 175. It’s going to be exciting!”