Kraus Earns Second Consecutive Runner-Up Finish, Extends Points Lead
Derek Kraus notched a runner-up finish in his second consecutive race, finishing second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Saturday.
Kraus, trying to repeat his win last year in the Monaco Cocktails 125 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame at the St. Louis-area track, drove the Bill McAnally Racing No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry up to second on the final lap of the event – which ended with a green-white-checkered finish after being shortened to 98 laps due to time.
His BMR teammate, Hailie Deegan, finished ninth in the No. 19 Monster Energy/NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry. The early checkered flag cut short her effort to battle back from a flat tire, which followed contact between her and Kraus while fighting for fourth.
The race ended early for BMR’s Brittney Zamora in the No. 99 NAPA Belts & Hoses/ENEOS Toyota Camry, after she dropped out with mechanical trouble on Lap 27 and finished 16th.
With his runner-up finish, Kraus extended his lead in the championship standings to 29 points. He has three wins, seven top-five, and nine top-10 finishes in 10 K&N West starts this season.
Despite finishing ninth, Deegan still moved up to second in the standings. The 18-year-old from Temecula, California, has two wins, five top-five and eight top-ten finishes in ten series starts.
Zamora – a 20-year-old from Kennewick, Washington – remains second in rookie points and fifth in the overall series standings. She has five top-five and six top-ten finishes in ten starts.
The combination race will be televised to a national audience on NBCSN on Aug. 29 at 3 p.m. PST.
Derek Kraus
Start / Finish: 12 / 2
Points Earned: 42
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Points Standing / Total: 1st / 414 pts.
Hailie Deegan
Start / Finish: 10 / 9
Points Earned: 35
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Points Standing / Total: 2nd / 385 pts.
Brittney Zamora
Start / Finish: 19 / 16
Points Earned: 28
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Points Standing / Total: 5th / 338 pts.
Next Race: NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at Idaho’s Meridian Speedway on Sept. 28
How to Watch or Listen: fanschoice.tv
Derek Kraus: @derek9kraus
Hailie Deegan: @HailieDeegan
Brittney Zamora: @BrittneyZ52
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.