Kraus Working Hard To Make 2022 Playoffs

• MHR, BMR Ready For Busy Weekend Doubleheader At Mid-Ohio

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (July 7, 2022) – As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series prepares to make its inaugural visit to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, Derek Kraus enters the race focused on gaining ground on his competition and making this year’s playoffs.

The driver of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing No. 19 NAPA AutoCare Chevrolet Silverado is 11th in the championship standings, just 29 points below the cutoff line for the playoffs. He and his team are working hard to close that gap in the final two regular season races – at Mid-Ohio on Saturday and at Pocono Raceway on July 23.

Saturday’s event will mark the first race together for Kraus and Charles Denike, who last week was named as MHR’s crew chief. Denike, who has two series wins on his resume, joined the team after serving for nearly three seasons as a crew chief with GMS Racing, which developed an alliance with MHR at the beginning of this year.

Kraus, has built momentum in the run toward the playoffs, moving up two spots in the championship standings last month and closing in on the top 10. He is coming off an 11th-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway, which followed a sixth-place finish at Knoxville Raceway.

For tips on getting around the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio road course, he can turn to his MHR teammate – Colby Howard in the No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado. Howard, who is in his first full season of competing in the Camping World Truck Series, is among a limited number of drivers on the circuit who are familiar with the Ohio venue. He competed there in last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race.

This year, Howard will be busy pulling double duty over the weekend at Mid-Ohio. In addition to competing in the truck race on Saturday, he is slated to race one of three Bill McAnally Racing Chevrolets entered in the ARCA Menards Series event on Friday.

This will mark Howard’s second time this year in BMR’s No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet SS. In the ARCA Menards Series West race at Sonoma Raceway in June, he challenged for the lead in the closing laps and ultimately finished second, when the race ended prematurely under caution due to time constraints.

Howard will team in Friday’s race with Jack Wood in the No. 21 Cooks Collision Chevrolet SS and Blaine Perkins in the No. 99 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet SS, who are both doing double duty, as well. Wood competes full time in the Camping World Truck Series for GMS Racing. His first start for BMR, in the ARCA West race at Sonoma, yielded a strong fourth-place finish. Perkins races a truck full time for C7R Racing, while also attending Pepperdine University.

The Mid-Ohio event is the third of three races that comprise this season’s Triple Truck Challenge in the Camping World Truck Series – with $50,000 in bonus money up for grabs to the winning driver.

MHR has been working on sponsor activation for the Mid-Ohio event with Daniel Wilson, General Manager of NAPA’s Distribution Center in Columbus, Ohio, and his team at NAPA Columbus. A special group of guests that he will bring to Saturday’s race will be treated to a VIP Experience. They will be able to be on the starting grid with the MHR drivers and teams and take pictures with them.

Guests will also go behind the scenes for driver introductions. In addition, they will get a special pit tour, view the NAPA transporter and have a meet-and-greet with the drivers. Seats on the MHR pit boxes will be available for selected VIP guest crewmembers.

Practice/Qualifying
The Mid-Ohio Camping World Truck Series event will feature a stand-alone 50-minute practice session on Friday morning. Qualifying later that day will feature two groups, each in a 15-minute timed session. The top five of each group will transfer to a final round, competing in a 10-minute session.

Quote – Derek Kraus
“I’m looking forward to Mid-Ohio and working with Charles (Denike) for the first time. We want to go there and execute everything right and gain points on the cutline.”

Quote – Colby Howard
“I definitely think my track time at Mid-Ohio will be an advantage. We haven’t had the best first half of the season, but we see this as a good turning point for the 91 team and make up some positions in the standings.”

ARCA Menards Series Event:
Race: Dawn 150 (Race 10 of 20) July 8, 2022
Location: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio (2.258-mile road course)
Television: FS1 at 5 p.m. Eastern

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Event:
Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio (67 Laps) (Race 15 of 23) July 9, 2022
Location: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio (2.258-mile road course)
Television: FS1 on July 9 at 1:30 p.m.ET

MHR DRIVERS
Derek Kraus
No. 19 NAPA AutoCare Chevrolet Silverado RST
Age: 20
Hometown: Stratford, Wis.
Career series stats: 64 starts, 3 poles, 4 top fives, 23 top 10s
Most recent series finish: 11th – Nashville Superspeedway (6/24/22)
Best career series finish: 2nd – Darlington (9/6/20)
2022 series stats:
Races: 14 starts, 1 pole, 4 top 10s
Laps completed: 1,818/1,886
Laps led: 15
Series standings: 11th

Colby Howard
No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST
Age: 20
Hometown: Simpsonville, S.C.
Career series stats: 19 starts
Most recent series finish: 16th – Nashville Superspeedway (6/24/22)
Best career series finish: 11th – Kansas (5/14/22)
2022 series stats:
Races: 14 starts
Laps completed: 1,761/1,886
Laps led: 10
Series standings: 18th