Kraus Dominates Early, Rouse Nabs Career-Best Finish at Monroe
Cole Rouse came away with a career-best runner-up finish at Evergreen Speedway on Saturday in a NAPA-sponsored NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race in which Derek Kraus dominated much of the event.
Rouse scored the career-best finish in taking the runner-up spot in the NAPA AUTO PARTS 175 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.
Rouse, who drives the Bill McAnally Racing No. 99 NAPA Filters Toyota Camry, previously had a career-best finish of third–on three occasions.
Kraus, his BMR teammate, dominated more than half the race in the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry–but encountered a mechanical issue that derailed his try for a third victory this season. Kraus won the pole award, his fourth this season and the fifth of his career, and led the first 115 laps before heading to the pits with a fuel issue. He returned to competition three laps down and rebounded to finish ninth.
BMR’s Hailie Deegan, meanwhile, had another solid performance in finishing seventh in the No. 19 Mobil 1/NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry.
Rouse was fourth quickest in time trials, but hit the wall in qualifying and had to start at the tail of the field in a backup car.
Start / Finish (Derek Kraus): 1 / 9
Points Earned: 37
Points Standing / Total: 3rd / 346 pts.
Next Race: Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, Ill., Aug. 24
How to Watch or Listen: NBCSN
Derek Kraus: @derek9kraus
NAPA Racing: @NAPARacing
Bill McAnally Racing: @BMR_NASCAR
Bill McAnally Racing View All
Bill McAnally Racing (BMR) holds the ARCA Menards Series West (AMSW) record with 11 championships and eclipsed the 100-win mark in 2022. The team has piled on six titles in the last eight seasons with four different drivers since 2015. Loomis, California, native Jack Wood takes control of the No. 16 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet for the 12-race campaign in 2024 and looks to add another title trophy to the BMR archive in his first full-time AMSW campaign.