Kraus To Debut In Camping World Truck Series

• 17-Year-Old NASCAR Next Driver Entered At ISM Raceway

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (Nov. 6, 2018) – Derek Kraus is set to make his debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this week, racing the Bill McAnally Racing No. 19 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Tundra in the Lucas Oil 150 on Friday at ISM Raceway near Phoenix.

The event is to be televised live on FOX Sports 1 and will also be carried live on MRN radio.

Kraus – a member of the NASCAR Next program, which spotlights NASCAR’s rising stars – is a 17-year-old from Stratford, Wisconsin. He just completed his second full season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – driving BMR’s No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, as he led the competition in several categories.

While finishing fourth in the championship standings, Kraus topped the series this season in terms of wins, with four, and poles, with five. He also led the most laps of competition. Overall, he registered eight top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 14 races.

In his two seasons of competition in the K&N West, Kraus has five wins, six poles, 17 top-five finishes, and 20 top-10 finishes in 28 starts. He won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in 2017.

Kraus also ran select events in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2017 and 2018, garnering two pole awards, along with four top-five finishes, in seven starts.

Kraus began his racing career as a 7-year-old competing in the Wisconsin State Go Kart Series in 2008. Success in karting led him to move up to the Midwest Bandolero Series, where he won championships in 2013 and 2014. He followed that up with a championship in the Midwest Truck Series in 2015. In addition, he also won rookie titles that year in the American Ethanol Super Truck Series and at State Park Speedway in Wausau, Wisconsin.

He raced super late models in 2016, taking the runner-up spot in the Super Late Model championship points at State Park Speedway for the season and also finishing second in the Yellow River Race Series at Marshfield Super Speedway in Marshfield, Wisconsin.

In addition, he finished fourth that year in season championship points and second in the rookie standings in the ARCA Midwest Tour Series. He became the youngest driver to win an ARCA Midwest Tour Series race, breaking a 25-year-old record set by Matt Kenseth.

Ty Joiner, a veteran leader with the BMR team, will serve as the crew chief at Phoenix. John Camilleri, who was the crew chief this year on the K&N West entry driven by Kraus, will serve as the truck chief.