Colby Howard grabbed a ninth-place finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kansas Lottery 200 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, while a cut tire derailed a strong run for his McAnally-Hilgemann Racing teammate, Derek Kraus.
Kraus was on the move in the No. 19 Kafka Granite Chevrolet Silverado, charging from his 13th-place starting position and running as high as fifth at the beginning of the final stage of the race. He got pinched into the outside wall, however, and then scraped the wall a second time after getting into some oil – which cut down a tire and required he pit under green. He returned to the track a couple of laps down in 30th. He battled back to gain one lap and finish 21st.
Howard was initially fast in the No. 91 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado, starting 18th and finishing the first stage in 14th. A loose condition and some damage slowed his progress, putting him 24th when a caution came out on Lap 75. His crew chief, Mark Hillman, opted for him to pit for fresh tires and fuel during the yellow, which turned out to be the last caution of the race.
Howard restarted in 28th, but quickly gained positions as the field later cycled through green-flag pit stops – putting him third on Lap 110. With fast trucks on fresh tires charging to the front in the closing laps, he held on to finish ninth and match the career-best finish he had at Mid-Ohio in July.
MHR welcomed a special group from NAPA Kansas to the speedway on Friday. The guests were treated to a tour of the NAPA race transporter, a meet-and-greet with the drivers and access to pit lane with the team. VIP guest crewmembers had seats atop the team’s war wagon to see all the behind-the-scenes action during the race.
Quote – Derek Kraus
“We got squeezed into the wall and that wasn’t bad, but the second time I got in oil and that’s when I got the bad damage. The team brought a really fast Chevy to the track and I’m happy about that. It was also cool to have Kafka on the truck for this race.”
Quote – Colby Howard
“We fired off with a really fast Silverado. We just fought a really free feeling through the first two stages. We got some damage and couldn’t ever recover, but Mark made a really good strategy call to get us some track position and ended up ninth.”
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