Kraus Ready For Las Vegas Truck Race
• 18-Year-Old Anxious For Return To Series
ROSEVILLE, Calif. (Sept. 9, 2019) – Derek Kraus returns to competition in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series this week, racing in the World of Westgate 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday.
The event on the 1.5-mile speedway marks the third of four truck series races that the Stratford, Wisconsin teenager is competing in this season in the Bill McAnally Racing No. 19 ENEOS Toyota Tundra.
“I’ve been looking forward to this race all summer,” said Kraus, who turned 18 last week. “We’re anxious to get back to competing in the truck series with our ENEOS Toyota. Las Vegas Motor Speedway is an awesome facility and I’m excited about it being the site of my first race on a speedway of this size.”
The four truck series events Kraus is racing 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. He leads the championship standings by 29 points – with three wins, seven top-five, and nine top-10 finishes in 10 starts this season.
“We’re having a great season in K&N West,” said Kraus, a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights NASCAR’s rising stars. “We’re working hard to finish the season strong and secure the championship.”
In addition to running the full K&N West schedule, Kraus also competed in the first eight races this year in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East – where he scored two wins. He led the standings of both divisions through much of the first half of the season.
Kraus made his debut in the truck series late last season, with an eighth-place finish at ISM Raceway near Phoenix. In truck series competition this year, he finished 18th at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway in March and eighth at Dover International Speedway in Delaware in May. Following Las Vegas, the fourth truck series race on his schedule this year will be at ISM Raceway in November.
Friday’s truck race is to be televised live on FOX Sports 1 and will also be carried live on MRN radio.
The event is part of a big NASCAR weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In addition to the truck series on Friday, the NASCAR XFINITY Series will be in competition on Saturday. The weekend will be capped off with the South Point 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday.