Kraus Makes First Venture To Watkins Glen
• K&N East Visits Historic New York Road Course
ROSEVILLE, Calif. (July 31, 2019) – Derek Kraus will tackle Watkins Glen International for the first time in his career when the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East visits the historic New York road course on Friday.
The 17-year-old from Stratford, Wisconsin will pilot the Bill McAnally Racing No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry around the twisting 2.45-mile track in the Great Outdoors RV Superstore 100 at The Glen.
“I’m looking forward to my first series race at Watkins Glen,” Kraus said. “We’ve been fast on the road course at Sonoma Raceway on the West Coast and we plan to be quick at The Glen, as well.
“It’s an awesome facility, with a great heritage, and I’m excited about competing there,” he said.
A second BMR entry in the K&N East race at Watkins Glen will be the No. 19 TRD 40th Anniversary Toyota Camry, with Brandon Jones behind the wheel. Jones of Atlanta, Georgia is a regular in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Kraus, a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights NASCAR’s emerging stars, is in contention for championships in the East and West divisions of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series this year.
Coming off a fourth-place finish in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway last week, he is second in the K&N East standings – six points out of first. He has two wins, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes in seven series starts.
He leads the K&N West championship standings, meanwhile, with a 16-point advantage over his BMR teammate Hailie Deegan.
Friday’s K&N East race will air live on FansChoice.TV – the streaming digital platform that’s airing the entire NASCAR regional series schedule live this year. In addition, it will be broadcast to a national audience on NBCSN on Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. ET.
The K&N East race at Watkins Glen is the eighth event on a 12-race series schedule this season. It’s part of a big NASCAR weekend at The Glen that also features the NASCAR XFINITY Series in action on Saturday and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in competition on Sunday.
The venue has hosted 25 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events, dating back to 1993.