Derek Kraus

Derek Kenneth Kraus (born September 1, 2001) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing Team. He has also previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, and ARCA Menards Series East and West. He won the 2019 West Series championship (when the series was known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West) and is also a former NASCAR Next member. He is also a simulator driver for Kaulig Racing.

Kraus started racing in go-karts and bandoleros. He won the GSR Kartway championship in 2012 and 2013. Kraus also competed in bandoleros at State Park Speedway in 2013 and won the track championship. In 2014, he won the State Park and state bandeleros championships. He later moved up to Midwest trucks and super late models (SLMs). He began the 2015 season by competing in seven Super Late Model races in Florida's New Smyrna Speedway. He began racing in the American Ethanol SuperTruck Series in 2015; he became the youngest driver to win a feature at Rockford Speedway at the age of thirteen. Additionally, Kraus won his first SLM race a few days before he turned fourteen. He also competed full-time in the Midwest Truck Series, he won that series' 2015 championship. In 2016, he competed in the ARCA Midwest Tour, finishing fourth in the standings and surpassing Matt Kenseth as the youngest driver to win a race in the series.

In January 2017, it was announced that Kraus would drive full-time in the 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West for Bill McAnally Racing (BMR), driving the team's No. 19 Toyota Camry. The announcement came after Kraus tested for the team at Kern County Raceway Park earlier that year.

Kraus made his debut for BMR in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Smyrna Speedway in February, where he finished third. He set career-best finishes in the West Series of second at Kern County, Spokane County Raceway, and Colorado National Speedway. He won the pole at Iowa Speedway, his first combination race between the K&N Pro Series East and West. Kraus led for an extended period at Meridian Speedway in Idaho and won the season's final race at Kern County for his first win, beating teammate and series champion Todd Gilliland. He also won the K&N West Rookie of the Year award in 2017.

Kraus began 2018 by competing in the Winter Showdown late model race at Kern County. He won the season-opening 2018 K&N Pro Series West race at Kern County after making contact with race leader Kevin Harvick on the final restart, giving the lead to teammate Cole Rouse in the process. Kraus later passed the fellow BMR driver while both were running in lapped traffic, taking the win. Kraus then won the pole in both races at the series' doubleheader at Tucson Speedway, finishing fourth and eleventh in the first and second races respectively. In May 2018, Kraus was named to the 2018 NASCAR Next class. At Douglas County Speedway, Kraus won his third career race, leading teammate Hailie Deegan to a 1-2 finish for BMR. At Evergreen Speedway, Kraus won the pole and led a majority of the race but ran out of fuel in the closing stages of the race, losing to Derek Thorn. In the series' next race, a combination race with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Gateway Motorsports Park, Kraus passed Rouse on the final restart to secure his third victory of the season. At the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, he led 31 laps but spun in the later stages and retired from the race, dropping to seventeenth in the classification order. At Meridian Speedway, Kraus led the first 189 laps before slowing to avoid a spinning lapped car in a late caution, leading to a third-place finish. For the final West race of the season, the tour returned to Kern County Raceway, and Kraus won after a late-race restart. He finished the season-long points tally in fourth, behind Thorn, Ryan Partridge and Rouse.

Kraus' racing schedule with BMR expanded in 2018 to include a foray into the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. After finishing fourth in the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway, Kraus finished 24th in the next race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He then won the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. It was later announced that Kraus would join DGR-Crosley for the last two East races on the calendar. In his first race with DGR, he again claimed the pole at New Hampshire. Kraus raced against Brandon McReynolds for the lead on the final restart, finishing in second. He would end the season with a third-place finish in the season finale at Dover.

On November 6, 2018, Kraus announced that he would make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at ISM Raceway that Friday, driving the No. 19 Toyota Tundra for Bill McAnally Racing. He both qualified for and finished the race in the eighth position.

Kraus returned to BMR for a third West season in 2019. He also planned to run some K&N East races. Kraus began 2019 by winning the New Smyrna 175 K&N East race. After finishing sixth at Bristol, Kraus was three points out of the championship points lead. Addressing his unclear K&N East schedule, Kraus commented, "If we're leading, we're going to race three." Kraus competed in the third and fourth races in South Boston, winning the second race in the doubleheader. Kraus was leading the East Series championship in July, and team owner Bill McAnally reaffirmed the team's commitment to run full-time in the East as long as Kraus was at the top of the standings. After a ninth place finish at Watkins Glen International, Kraus and BMR were more than ten points out of the lead and subsequently withdrew from the second race at Bristol, conceding the East Series championship.