NASCAR Truck Series driver Derek Kraus to make Xfinity debut at Richmond Raceway

Kaulig Racing announced that NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Derek Kraus will make his Xfinity Series debut next weekend. He will drive the #10 Chevrolet Camaro at the ToyotaCare 250 at the Richmond Raceway on April 1.

Derek Kraus, who won the 2019 West Series championship after winning five races, competed full-time in the NASCAR Truck Series from 2020 to 2022 for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. Entering this season, he was replaced by Christian Eckes.

Kraus has since made one Truck Series appearance this season, as he joined Young’s Motorsports at the Daytona International Speedway, where he drove the #20 Chevrolet Silverado. He started 11th in that race and finished inside the top 20 as rain brought the race to an early end.

Kraus will be the fifth open entry to officially join the all-star car including Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, A.J. Allmendinger, and Kyle Busch. Allmendinger will drive the #10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet on Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

The 21-year-old has no prior experience at the 0.75-mile-long Richmond Raceway in NASCAR’s second-tier series but he has made three appearances in the Truck Series.

Kraus made his debut at this venue in 2020, where he started sixth and crossed the finish line in 23rd place. He then returned to Richmond the following year and finished outside the top 20.

His third and most recent appearance came in 2022 when he achieved his career-best performance by finishing 12th in Richmond.

In a six-year-long Truck career, the Wisconsin-born driver has made 47 career starts and scored 26 total top-10 finishes, including four poles. His career-best performance came at the Darlington Raceway in 2020 after finishing second.

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Entry list: 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at COTA

Take a look at the entry list for the sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA):

1. Cole Custer
2. Sam Mayer
3. Kyle Weatherman
4. Sheldon Creed
5. Garrett Smithley
6. Brennan Poole
7. Blaine Perkins (R)
8. Justin Allgaier
9. Aric Almirola (i)
10. Josh Berry
11. Brandon Jones
12. A. J. Allmendinger (i)
13. Daniel Hemric
14. #Chandler Smith (R)
15. William Byron (i)
16. Sammy Smith (R)
17. Ty Gibbs (i)
18. John Hunter Nemechek
19. Austin Hill
20. Connor Mosack (R)
21. Brett Moffitt
22. Kaz Grala
23. Jeb Burton
24. Kyle Sieg
25. Parker Retzlaff (R)
26. Parker Chase
27. Joe Graf Jr.
28. Ryan Sieg
29. Ryan Ellis
30. Sage Karam
31. Jeffrey Earnhardt
32. Parker Kligerman
33. Preston Pardus
34. Jeremy Clements
35. Brad Perez
36. Cameron Lawrence
37. Baltazar Leguizamón
38. Anthony Alfredo
39. Miguel Paludo
40. Josh Bilicki
41. Josh Williams
42. Riley Herbst