Kraus facing adversity
NASCAR truck driver strives to perform better
By Casey Krautkramer
Derek Kraus, 19, of Stratford, is struggling in his second season racing in the NASCAR Camping World truck series. He’s aware, however, that even the best drivers experience highs and lows during their racing careers. Kraus’ bad luck he’s experiencing thus far this season could quickly turn around, resulting in top race finishes.
He recently took a break from his busy NASCAR truck racing schedule to visit with Stratford-area race fans during the Steve Parson’s Benefit tour on April 11 at his family’s business, The Cellar Sports Bar & Grill in downtown Stratford. Kraus displayed the No. 9 stock car he competes with at local race tracks in Wisconsin in the summers, including State Park Speedway in Rib Mountain.
He got off to a bad start in the 2021 season-opening truck race with the No. 19 Toyota Tundra for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, by only placing 33rd out of 36 race truck drivers at Daytona International Raceway on Feb. 12. Ben Rhodes won the race.
Kraus was involved in a four-truck wreck after the initial start of the season- opening race at Daytona. Luckily for Kraus, he recovered from a spin in that early crash but his bad night had just begun. Kraus caused two more cautions in the race with spins and he collided with rookie Kris Wright’s truck on pit road before taking his No. 19 Toyota Tundra to the garage.
He bounced back a week later on Feb. 19, by placing seventh out of 40 race truck drivers at the Daytona International Raceway road course. Ben Rhodes also won this race. Kraus then had another bad race, by only placing 32nd out of 40 drivers at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5. John Hunter Nemechek won this race.
Kraus did a bit worse at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 27, with a 38th-place finish among 40 race truck drivers. Nemechek exited the race after a lap No. 49 crash, spinning after contact from Matt Crafton’s Ford and sustaining heavy damage when Kraus slid into his No. 4 Toyota as it sat near the outside wall of the half-mile highbanked speedway. Martin Truex Jr. won this race.
Kraus remained optimistic on April 11 while he was back home in Stratford that he could have better race results during the remainder of this NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.
“So far we’ve had our ups and downs,” he said. “We had a good run at the road course in Daytona, but after that it’s quite honestly been a struggle. As you can see, we’ve had a lot of bad finishes. We changed our crew chief and hopefully this helps a little bit, and hopefully we can get our luck turned around and do well the rest of the year.”
Kraus did race better on April 17 by placing 15th at Richmond Raceway. Nemechek earned his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in the last four races to hold off his boss, Kyle Busch, in the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway. Kraus’ next truck race is on Saturday, May 1, at Kansas Speedway.
The young Stratford adult still yearns to one day race cars in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“That’s the plan but we just need to take things step by step,” Kraus said. ”You need to win races because this sport is based on performance. You gotta win truck races and then hopefully get recognized by somebody so you can move up in this sport.”
Kraus earned an 11th-place finish in the overall standings in his debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last season, with a runner-up finish at Darlington Raceway and 13 top-10 finishes in races.
