Kraus Leads BMR In K&N East Action At Bristol
• Team Fields 4 Entries At High-Banked, Half-Mile Track
BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 6, 2019) – Derek Kraus led the way among four Bill McAnally Racing entries competing in the Zombie Auto 150 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Kraus drove the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry to a sixth-place finish at the historic high-banked, half-mile track. The 17-year-old NASCAR Next driver from Stratford, Wisconsin had battled for a top-five spot throughout the race, but came up just short in the closing laps.
Raphael Lessard – a 17-year-old Canadian from Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec – started 13th and finished ninth in making his series debut in BMR’s No. 50 NAPA Belts & Hoses/FRL Express Toyota Camry.
Series rookie Brittney Zamora took 11th in the No. 99 NAPA Filters / ENEOS Toyota Camry, while Hailie Deegan was 16th in the No. 19 Monster/NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Carmry.
The 150-lap race, won by Sam Mayer, was the second event on a 14-race series schedule for 2019.
Zamora – a 19-year-old from Kennewick, Washington – started 11th and quickly moved up to sixth after avoiding a multicar crash at the start of the race. She later settled into 10th and battled throughout the race to remain in the top 10.
Deegan – a 17-year-old NASCAR Next driver from Temecula, California – charged from the back of the pack on two occasions on Saturday. She started from the back after missing qualifying on Friday, due to an engine change after practice. She was up to seventh before making a pit stop during the first of two breaks. After having to return to the pits for a second time during the break, Deegan had to restart at the rear, again.
Although she made her way back into the top 10, Deegan was eventually sidelined with overheating.
Kraus, Deegan, and Zamora are running the full schedule in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West this year, while racing select K&N East events. Lessard, meanwhile, was driving a fourth BMR entry at Bristol.
Activities for the BMR drivers at Bristol included a driver autograph session and a special meet-and-greet with a large group of guests from NAPA Power Premium Plus.
The Bristol race will be televised on NBCSN on April 11 at 4 p.m. ET.