For the Hub City Times  

TUCSON, AZ – Derek Kraus overcame Mother Nature to sweep both races of a doubleheader at Tucson Raceway on May 11 and take over the lead in the championship standings of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

The 17-year-old NASCAR Next driver from Stratford, dominated the first of the twin 100-lap races – leading the event wire-to-wire. He took command of the second race just past the midway point and pulled away for the victory.

“We had a really good NAPA Toyota going into the first race,” said Kraus, who started second on the grid. “There was a little bit of unknown with the rain here in Tucson. Overall, it was a good first race.

“The second race we had to work a little bit harder,” he said. “We didn’t lead until the second half of the race. It was definitely more challenging than the first race.”

While other drivers were charging hard, Kraus chose to save his tires in the second race.

“They wore them out and in the end we took advantage of that,” he said of his competition.

The start of the first race was delayed by a thundershower that swept through the area. Rain also fell after the race, pushing back the start of the second race.

Kraus has won two of four races this season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and two of four races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He leads the points in both divisions.

Kraus has two wins, three top-five, and four top-10 finishes in four starts this season. He leads the K&N West championship standings by 18 points. He leads the K&N East standings by four points.

The two wins by Kraus give BMR 95 overall victories in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.

The Tucson races will be televised on NBCSN on May 22.

The next event on the K&N West schedule will be at Colorado National Speedway north of Denver on June 8.