Derek Kraus will return for a third season at Bill McAnally Racing (BMR) in 2019 where he will pilot the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. Kraus will also make a jump to the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series and compete in BMR’s No. 19 ENEOS Toyota Tundra in select events.
Kraus led the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in 2018 in victories (four), poles (five) and laps-led (717).
“Derek has quickly developed into a contender in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series,” said BMR President Bill McAnally. “It’s been great to be a part of his development and we look forward to continuing that role with him.”
The 17-year-old from Stratford, Wisconsin, is ready for an exciting 2019 season and is looking forward to competing for a championship.
“While we won four races last year, we came up a little bit short in our ultimate goal to win a championship and I want to change that this year,” said Kraus. “Being a part of Bill McAnally Racing has been a dream for me and I am thankful for the opportunity to run in a few NASCAR national series races this year.”
Along with winning the rookie title in the series in his freshman season in 2017, Kraus has accumulated five wins, six poles, 17 top-fives, and 20 top-10s in 28 starts in K&N West competition over the past two years. He has one win, two poles and six top-10s in nine K&N East starts during that span.
The 2019 season will mark BMR’s 29th year with NAPA AUTO PARTS as a sponsor.
“The NAPA AUTO PARTS relationship with our race team is one of the best in the racing business and we are so grateful for their support,” added McAnally. “Our goal is to continue to win championships and races to provide NAPA with the best sales tool in this sport.”
ENEOS will also come aboard to the BMR team and sponsor truck series events with Kraus.
“We welcome ENEOS to our team as they join in with the next step in Derek’s bright racing career,” McAnally said.
The 2019 BMR NASCAR K&N Pro Series West lineup consists of Kraus, and Toyota Racing development drivers Hailie Deegan and Brittney Zamora. Each driver will compete in select NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events in 2019.
BMR has won a record eight series championships, as well as capturing 90 overall victories between the East and West divisions of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
BMR PR
