Derek Kraus battled back from being a lap down to come away with a top-10 finish in an action-packed NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Friday night.
The 19-year-old series rookie worked his way through the field with the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing No. 19 Shockwave/ENEOS Toyota Tundra to finish 10th in the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 on the historic half-mile oval. It marked his fourth straight top-10 finish.
Kraus initially gained several spots after starting 11th, but then began slipping back as he battled a very loose handling condition. He was one lap down in 23rd at the end of the first stage, at Lap 50. He began battling back after making a pit stop and worked his way into position for the free pass when a caution came out on Lap 90.
Kraus was 16th when the second stage concluded on Lap 100. He continued charging his way forward, while avoiding much of the tight short-track bumping and banging that led to 11 cautions over the course of the event. He was up to 10th under caution with less than 20 laps to go. Although he gained a few spots on that restart, he got shuffled back to 10th in the final restart with two laps to go.
Kraus has three top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 22 starts in his freshman season in the series. The truck series wraps up its 2020 season under the lights at Phoenix Raceway next Friday.
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