Strong Performance By MHR Teammates At COTA
Kraus Jumps To 10th In Championship Standings
AUSTIN, Texas (March 26, 2022) – McAnally-Hilgemann Racing had a strong performance in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition on the road course at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on Saturday – with Derek Kraus and Colby Howard each battling for a top-10 finish late in the race.
Kraus came away 12th in MHR’s No. 19 BBB/NAPA Power Premium Plus Chevrolet Silverado RST. Howard – in the No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST – was 11th going into overtime, but got caught up in a wild scramble on the restart and finished 24th.
The finish by Kraus, coupled with critical bonus points he picked up in the first two stages of the race, boosted him to 10th in the championship standings and builds on his momentum early in his third full season of competing in the series.
Kraus, who started 14th on the grid, picked up important bonus points by finishing fourth in the first stage and third in the second stage. Following both stages, however, he had to battle back because many teams opted to pit early for fuel and tires and gain track position at the end of the stage.
He had worked his way back up to 12th in the final stage of the race, when he was spun by contact from another truck on Lap 39 – dropping him to 23rd. He took advantage of three and four-wide racing on the restart to regain all the spots he lost and came up just short of grabbing his second consecutive top-10 finish.
After starting 26th, Howard’s team chose to use the strategy of pitting short in both stages. The move put him in seventh for the start of the final stage of the race. He battled back and forth for a top-10 finish as the laps wound down. Going into overtime, contact from another truck knocked him out of contention for a top 10 and left him to finish 24th. Nonetheless, he moved up to 29th in points.
Sponsor activation for the race was coordinated through Bryon Gonzales, BBB Industries Director of National Sales, and Tim Wilks, NAPA District Manager in Austin. Kraus and Howard, along with team co-owner Bill McAnally, met NAPA personnel at the NAPA Round Rock store headed out to visit Rush Automotive and Dave’s Ultimate Automotive.
At the track, a special group of guests were treated to a VIP Experience. They toured the team hauler, had access to pit road and were on the starting grid with the team during pre-race ceremonies. In addition to that group, James Fraser – who served 10 tours of duty with the military in Iraq – and Dr. Joseph Meiring were in attendance as special VIP guests of the team.
Quote – Derek Kraus
“Our team prepared another really good Silverado for COTA. We had a big points day, with huge stage points. It’s great to be in the top 10 of the standings.”
Quote – Colby Howard
“We had a really good day going for us. We struggled the first part of the race, but finally started picking up some speed and ended up inside the top 10 on a green-white-checkered before we got contact and spun. It’s an extremely disappointing end to our day, but we will go to the next one ready to fight.”
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Event:
Race: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race (46 Laps) (Race 4 of 23) March 26, 2022
Location: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas (3.41-mile road course)
Format: Three Stages; Lap 12 / Lap 26 / Lap 42
Derek Kraus
No. 19 BBB/NAPA Power Premium Plus Chevrolet Silverado RST
Age: 20
Hometown: Stratford, Wis.
Practice: 17th
Qualified: 14th
Stage 1: 4th
Stage 2: 3rd
Finished: 12th (Running, completed 46 of 46 laps)
Career stats:
Career series stats: 54 starts, 2 poles, 4 top fives, 20 top 10s
2022 series stats:
Races: 4 starts, 1 top 10
Laps completed: 416/421
Laps led: 1
Series standings: 10th
Colby Howard
No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST
Age: 20
Hometown: Simpsonville, S.C.
Practice: 30th
Qualified: 26th
Stage 1: 23rd
Stage 2: 14th
Finished: 24th (Running, completed 46 of 46 laps)
Career stats:
9 starts
2022 series stats:
Races: 4 starts
Laps completed: 308/421
Laps led: 9
Series standings: 29th
Next Race:
Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200, April 7, 2022, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va. (.526-mile oval)