A possible series-best night for Derek Kraus came to a crushing early end in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on Friday night.
His McAnally-Hilgemann Racing No. 19 Thorogood Toyota Tundra was knocked out of contention after slamming the wall following contact with another truck on Lap 111.
Kraus had won his first career series pole award in qualifying earlier in the day, with a lap of 160.493 mph being quickest of the 42 entries. He led the field to the green flag and set the pace for the first 48 laps, to win Stage 1, his first of the season. Although he lost a few spots during pit stops, Kraus battled back to finish Stage 2 in third – giving him a total of 18 stage points.
With many of the leaders opting to pit off sequence prior to the end of Stage 2, Kraus got shuffled back in the field to start the final segment of the race. He was working his way forward when contact from another truck turned him into the wall along the back stretch wall. The subsequent hit into the Turn 3 wall ended his night, leaving him with a 35th-place finish.
The Nashville event marked the first race to feature Thorogood as the primary sponsor on the MHR No. 19 Toyota Tundra. It also marked the return of NASCAR to Nashville Superspeedway, which hosted Craftsman Truck Series races from 2001 to 2011.
Derek Kraus – Thoughts about the race
You looked really fast tonight.
“We had a fast Tundra. It was cool to get the pole, lead laps and win a stage.”
Talk about your qualifying lap.
“We had a really good truck in practice. It rotated the center really well and then in qualifying I was able to stay on the gas a lot and make sure this Thorogood Toyota Tundra was really fast and ended up on the pole.”
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Event:
Race: Rackley Roofing 200 (150 Laps) (Race 12 of 22) June 18, 2021
Location: Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (1.333-mile oval)
Format: Three Stages; Lap 45 / Lap 95 / Lap 150
Derek Kraus
No. 19 Thorogood Toyota Tundra
Age: 19
Hometown: Stratford, Wis.
Practice: 17th
Qualified: 1st
Stage 1: 1st
Stage 2: 3rd
Finished: 35th (Accident, completed 110 of 150 laps)
Laps led: 48
Race Winner: Ryan Preece
2021 Series Stats:
Races: 12 starts, 2 top 10s
Laps completed: 1,339/1,575
Laps led: 48
Series standings: 15th
Next Race:
CRC Brakleen 150, June 26, 2021, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Penn. (2.5-mile oval).
MHR PR
