Solid Day At Daytona Comes Up Short For Kraus

What started off as a solid run by Derek Kraus on the road course at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, ended six laps short of the checkered flag for the driver of the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing No. 19 ENEOS / NAPA Toyota Tundra.

An eventual fuel pump issue on Lap 41 left Kraus with a 30th-place finish.

In making his first truck series road race, Kraus started ninth on the grid – as the series marked its inaugural event on the road course at Daytona. He raced in the top 10 in the opening laps and then bounced back from an issue at one of the chicanes to finish 10th in the first stage. After getting shuffled back to 18th, as the field cycled through pit stops; Kraus got mired in heavy traffic and battled to gain ground while negotiating the challenging 3.61-mile winding road course.

A Lap 20 pit stop for body repairs led to him finishing the second stage in 28th. He worked his way forward and was up to 19th late in the race, when his truck stalled on track with mechanical trouble on Lap 41 – ending his day.

The finish, which ended a string of top-10 finishes for the 18-year-old series rookie, dropped him from ninth in the championship standings to 11th. He is two points out of 10th, just below the cutoff for making the playoffs.

Derek Kraus – Thoughts about the Daytona Road Course

Your thoughts after having a rough day of road racing?

“It was a long day. I made a lot of mistakes, but the MHR team never gave up.”

BMR PR