The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will wrap up its 2018 season under the lights Saturday night at Kern County Raceway Park with the NAPA AUTO PARTS 175 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.
Bill McAnally Racing is aiming to add to the string of four consecutive wins the team has scored at the high-banked, half-mile track near Bakersfield, California.
Two-time series champion Todd Gilliland won twice there while driving for BMR and Derek Kraus also has two wins there, going to Victory Lane in last year’s season finale and in this year’s season opener.
His victory there to start the year – in which he edged Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick – is one of three wins Kraus has scored this season in the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry. The 17-year-old driver from Stratford, Wisconsin leads the series this year in terms of wins, as well as having the most poles, with five, and has led the most laps. Overall, he has seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 13 starts, and is fourth in the championship standings.
Kraus faces plenty of tough competition in trying to win a third straight race at Kern. Two of his biggest challengers are his BMR teammates, Cole Rouse and Hailie Deegan.
Rouse has been on a hot streak in the No. 99 NAPA Filters Toyota Camry. Coming off his first career series victory, the 21-year-old from Fort Smith, Arkansas has a win and three second-place finishes in the past five races. His average finish of 2.6 is best in the series during that span. His performance has propelled him to second in the championship standings – 26 points out of first.
Overall this season, Rouse has one win, seven top-five, and 12 top-10 finishes in 13 starts. He finished third at KCRP in his rookie season in 2016 and also came home third in this year’s season opener there in March, leading 26 laps.
Deegan, who drives the No. 19 Mobil 1 / NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry, is having a record-setting season, meanwhile. The 17-year-old – who hails from Temecula, California – made history this year in becoming the first female driver to win a series race and the first woman to win a pole award in the series. She leads the rookie points in the K&N West and is fifth in the overall standings – with one win, five top-five, and 11 top-10 finishes.
Deegan finished seventh at Kern County Raceway Park in March, while making her series debut.
Kraus and Deegan are both members of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights NASCAR’s rising stars.
NAPA AUTO PARTS is expected to be well represented at KCRP, with plenty of guests in attendance. A VIP experience provided by BMR will include a special pit tour and an opportunity to attend the drivers meeting. Guests will also be treated to VIP Hospitality and viewing from a VIP Suite.
The race at KCRP is scheduled to be televised on NBCSN on Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. PT.
Bill McAnally Racing PR
