Kraus takes third at New Hampshire
For Hub City Times
LOUDON, N.H. – Derek Kraus drove the Bill McAnally Racing No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry to a third-place finish in the United Site Services 70 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 20.
With his podium finish at the track known as the Magic Mile, the 17-year-old NASCAR Next driver from Stratford was able to maintain a two-point lead in the championship standings of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
Kraus took advantage of a scramble among the leaders in the opening lap to gain multiple spots after starting ninth. He was up to second by Lap 11 and took the lead after a Lap 25 restart, but was passed at the midway point of the race and fell to second. He slipped to third in a drag race to the checkered flag.
“We struggled a lot yesterday in practice, so we didn’t know what we were going to have,” Kraus said after the race. “It was a really good finish for the weekend with our NAPA Toyota. For us it was like a win, after our struggle yesterday. My BMR team worked hard to get this.”
Kraus continues to lead the championship standings, as the K&N East hits the midway mark of the season with six races complete of a 12-race schedule. He has two wins, four top-five, and six top-10 finishes in his six starts. In addition to the K&N East, he also leads the championship chase in the K&N West.
The New Hampshire race, won by Chase Cabre, will be televised on NBCSN on July 29.
The next event on the series schedule is the Casey’s General Store 150 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway on July 26.