Derek Kraus will return to competition in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series this week, racing in the JEGS 200 at Dover International Speedway on Friday.
The event on the Delaware track known as The Monster Mile is the second of four truck races the 17-year-old from Stratford, Wisconsin is slated to run this year in the Bill McAnally Racing No. 19 ENEOS Toyota Tundra.
“I’m looking forward to competing in the truck series at Dover,” Kraus said. “I raced there last year in the K&N Pro Series East event and finished third. It’s the kind of track I really like and we expect to do well.”
Kraus – a member of the NASCAR Next program, which spotlights NASCAR’s rising stars – is eager to return to action in the series after finishing 18th in the truck race at Martinsville Speedway in March. He’s quick to point out that the finish did not reflect their performance.
“My BMR team gave me a fast ENEOS Tundra at Martinsville,” Kraus said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get the finish to show that. We want to come back and run strong and get a great finish at Dover.”
Kraus made his debut in the truck series late last season, with an eighth-place finish at ISM Raceway near Phoenix.
The four truck series races on his calendar this year are on off weekends from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – where he is in his third full season competing for BMR, driving the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry. Kraus, who won the K&N West rookie title in 2017, has five wins and six poles in 30 career series starts. His wins include a victory in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway last year.
Kraus is currently fourth in the K&N West championship standings, three points out of first – after finishing sixth at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track and third at Irwindale Speedway.
In addition to running all the K&N West races this year, he is also competing in select events on the K&N East schedule. He won the K&N East season opener at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway and finished sixth at Bristol Motor Speedway, putting him second in points.
He’s doing double duty this week – racing in two different series at two different tracks in two days. After the truck race on Friday, Kraus will head to Virginia for a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East doubleheader at South Boston Speedway on Saturday.
The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Dover is to be televised live on FOX Sports 1 and will also be carried live on MRN radio.
Bill McAnally Racing PR
