The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will make its inaugural visit to Knoxville Raceway this week for the Corn Belt 150 on Friday.
Derek Kraus is determined to come away with a strong finish in the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing No. 19 NAPA Power Premium Plus / NAPA AutoCare Toyota Tundra, as he races for the first time at the famed semi-banked, half-mile dirt track in Iowa.
It will be the second race on dirt this year for the Camping World Truck Series. The first one was just over three months ago, when the series raced on a dirt surface at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kraus was sidelined early in that March race, after getting caught up in an accident. He aims to rebound and avoid trouble at Knoxville.
Although Kraus developed his racing skills competing on paved tracks, his resume does include some dirt track experience at NASCAR’s regional level. He competed in two events at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track during his three seasons of racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. He won his heat race during preliminary action in each of those years and went on to lead the most laps in both feature races. In 2018, he got caught up in a late-race incident that left him to finish 17th and the following year he notched a sixth-place finish.
Kraus has had a fast Tundra all season, particularly in the two most recent races. He won the pole and led the first 48 laps at Nashville on June 18. The following week, he came away with a top-10 finish at Pocono.
In advance of Friday’s race, the Knoxville NAPA store will be having top customers to meet Kraus and team co-owner Bill McAnally, see the No. 19 Tundra and transporter, visit and have dinner.
Kraus and McAnally will also be visiting some NAPA AutoCare repair shops this week, with NAPA Knoxville and the NAPA Des Moines Distribution Center. The MHR team is set to provide a VIP welcome to a large group of NAPA guests attending the race on Friday.
Derek Kraus – About this week
What are your thoughts as you prepare to race at Knoxville?
“It’s exciting to go to Knoxville Raceway for the first time. The guys in the shop have been working hard to bring a fast Tundra and my aim is to come away with a great finish.”
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