Thursday March 28th, 2024 4:41AM

Derek Kraus dominates to sweep K&N West Tucson Twins

By Davey Segal-NASCARHomeTracks.com

TUCSON, Ariz. — Tucson was twice as nice for the Derek Kraus Saturday night.

The Stratford, Wisconsin, native swept the Port of Tucson Twin 100s for his third and fourth K&N Pro Series victories of the season and first wins on the West coast.

Coming off a win in the second 100-lap championship race last week at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway — giving him two NASCAR K&N Pro Series East wins — Kraus and the No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota established a goal to win both NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races and take command of the championship standings coming into Arizona.

They did exactly that.

“That was the goal coming into this race,” said Kraus in Victory Lane at Tucson Speedway. “Now we got the points lead going into the next K&N West race. That was really good and we’ll look to stay consistent the rest of the season. We just had to stay patient and it paid off at the end.”

In the first Tucson race, Kraus took the lead from pole sitter Tanner Gray going into turn 1 and never relinquished the top spot, leading all 100 laps.

Gray, Hailie Deegan, Jagger Jones and Brittney Zamora rounded out the top five finishers in Race No. 1. Matt Levin, Trevor Huddleston, Todd Souza, Dustin Ash and John Wood completed the top 10.

Race No. 2 was a different story for Kraus, who didn’t grab the lead until past the halfway point. But once he did, it was smooth sailing to another victory.

“This one we had to work a little harder on,” he said following his fourth win this season and ninth of his career. “We didn’t get the lead until lap 60 or so, but it was definitely a little more challenging than the first race. We saved a little bit of tires and them guys jumped out and used a little bit too much of the tires, they wore them out. And at the end we took advantage of that when we had good tires left.”

Gray came home second for the second consecutive race, with Zamora finishing a career-best third after leading 26 laps from the pole.

Trevor Huddleston and Matt Levin completed the top five, with Jagger Jones, Dustin Ash, Travis Milburn, Takuma Koga and Bill Kann rounding out the top 10.

Hailie Deegan, who entered the night leading the points, finished 15th after contact with Huddleston going into turn 2 that spun her around and forced her behind the wall for repairs.

Kody Vanderwal finished 11th and 12th, respectively in the twin 100s, after sweeping the twin races last season at the 0.375-mile track.

Kraus, who leads the K&N Pro East standings by four points, has an 18-point cushion over Sunrise Ford/Bruncati Racing teammates Huddleston and Jones. Deegan fell to fourth, another five points back.

The next K&N Pro Series West event will take place on Saturday, June 8 at Colorado National Speedway.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
Tucson Speedway – Tucson, AZ
Port of Tucson Twin 100 No. 1 – May 11, 2019

1. Derek Kraus
2. Tanner Gray
3. Hailie Deegan
4. Jagger Jones
5. Brittney Zamora
6. Matt Levin
7. Trevor Huddleston
8. Todd Souza
9. Dustin Ash
10. John Wood
11. Kody Vanderwal
12. Ron Jay
13. Bobby Hillis, Jr.
14. Austin Thom
15. Takuma Koga
16. Travis Milburn
17. Bill Kann
18. Billy Kann

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
Tucson Speedway – Tucson, AZ
Port of Tucson Twin 100 No. 2 – May 11, 2019

1. Derek Kraus
2. Tanner Gray
3. Brittney Zamora
4. Trevor Huddleston
5. Matt Levin
6. Jagger Jones
7. Dustin Ash
8. Travis Milburn
9. Takuma Koga
10. Bill Kann
11. Austin Thom
12. Kody Vanderwal
13. Ron Jay
14. Bobby Hillis, Jr.
15. Hailie Deegan
16. Todd Souza
17. John Wood
18. Billy Kann

  • Associated Categories: NASCAR News, Other Motorsports
  • Associated Tags: nascar, motorsports, Auto Racing, Stock Car, Short Track, Asphalt, K&N Pro West Series
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