Derek Kraus to make surprise NASCAR Cup start in Coca Cola 600
Derek Kraus, 23, will make his first NASCAR Cup Series start of the year this weekend, competing in NASCAR's longest race -- the 66th running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kraus will pilot the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet with sponsorship from Western States Flooring. This Sunday's race will be the first time since the season-opening Daytona that the Cup Series will have a full field of 40 cars with four open entries.
Kraus made six starts in the Cup Series last year, all while driving for Kaulig Racing. His best result came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finishing 28th. His most recent start came in the 2024 season finale at Phoenix Raceway, and this will be his first appearance in the Coke 600.
Advertisement
A former champion of the ARCA West Series in 2019, Kraus also has 76 Truck Series starts and eight Xfinity Series starts, but none since 2023. He was full-time in the Truck Series between 2020 and 2022, finishing as high as second at Darlington.
NY Racing Team has made four Cup starts as an open entry this year, all with veteran journeyman driver J.J. Yeley. Their best result of the year came at Talladega where they finished 32nd. The team also attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 but failed to make the show.
Read Also:
William Byron signs extension to remain with Hendrick through 2029
20 years later: Remembering the wildest Coke 600 in NASCAR history
Kurt Busch among those selected for 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame class
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
Carson Hocevar moves a step closer to taming NASCAR Cup Series with Nashville result
LEBANON, Tenn. — Carson Hocevar apologized. No, not for the contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., a matter Hocevar said he needed to review. And Hocevar didn't apologize for being a bull in a china shop, at least that's how some competitors see him. After matching his career-best finish of second Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, Hocevar apologized — for cutting an interview short. 'I'm about to throw up,' he said. The 22-year-old turned and walked over to the infield grass and did just that. He felt better afterward and resumed talking to reporters. Nothing is ordinary with Hocevar, who reminds one of a bucking bronco yet to be quite fully tamed, full of energy and able to force others to react to what they do. Even Nashville winner Ryan Blaney acknowledged what Hocevar has done with Spire Motorsports this season. 'Spire has been really, really fast this year,' Blaney said after his first victory of the season. 'Mainly the 77 (Hocevar). He's been really, really good and had a great shot to win that race last week and ran really good tonight.' Nate Ryan, Hocevar seems to be closing on his first career Cup victory, provided he can harness his talent and his team can execute a clean race. It all almost came together Sunday. Then again, that victory might have come the previous week in the Coca-Cola 600 had his engine not blown while he was running second with less than 100 laps to go. 'We're right on the doorstep,' Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson told NBC Sports after Sunday's race at Nashville Superspeedway. 'That was different from (the Coca-Cola 600) where we had a bunch of speed early and often. This was more of a workmanlike, mature finish for the group. I'm proud of (Hocevar). 'We still had our drama there. I wish he would have just cut Ricky a break more than anything. I don't know if that was entirely on Carson, but I do expect him to cut a guy a break like that. That's all part of the building block. I'd rather be having that discussion with him after a second-place run than 32nd.' Hocevar has noted that he's continuing to learn but also ready to win, saying this weekend: 'I feel like I know how to win. It's just being able to be detailed enough to have it work out.' And avoiding issues with competitors. After he finished runner-up at Atlanta in February, the second-year Cup driver had multiple drivers upset with him. Blaney and Ross Chastain talked to him after the race about his driving. While acknowledging he had room to grow on the track, he remained confident in what he was doing. 'We're here to win races and not be a boy band and love each other and play on the playground together,' Hocevar said at the time. Dustin Long, Hocevar is the third young driver that Luke Lambert has been paired with throughout his 13-year Cup career as a crew chief and those experiences are helping him connect with Hocevar more. 'I think what I've learned in working with different rookies and now with Carson is so much about managing expectations and building the mental toughness to be a Cup driver, which you really can't develop without the experience of driving in this series. … The mental toughness required to manage these Cup races is really where the difference is made.' So how does Lambert help Hocevar with that? 'It's a 24/7 focus on discipline,' Lamber said. 'Our focus is to develop the right amount of discipline for him without killing his creativity. That requires conversations about everything that happens on the track but also conversations that happen about everything in your life in between races.' Lambert calls Hocevar 'one of the most creative race car drivers I've ever been around in that he finds ways to do things with the car that other guys wouldn't have thought of or he may not have seen another guy do before.' Hocevar's finish moved him to within four points of Kyle Busch, who holds the final playoff spot with 12 races left in the regular season. After starting 26th, it made the accomplishment even more meaningful. 'Super proud of our group and what we're doing right now,' Lambert said on the team's radio after the race. 'We are proving that we are heading in the right direction. We're going to keep it up. The fact that we rallied and got this finish tonight is just another example of we're heading in the right direction. 'Good magic for next week. Let's have some fun.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ryan Blaney won NASCAR Nashville race after nothing 'funky' happened
LEBANON − Ryan Blaney broke his NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 pattern on June 1 and broke through with his biggest race of the year at Nashville Superspeedway. Blaney finished 37th in Nashville with brake trouble in 2021 and then was third in 2022. He lost control and hit the wall in 2023 and did not finish and then was sixth after leading 26 laps in 2024. Advertisement This was not supposed to be his year. It had not been Blaney's year in any way before June 1. He had five DNFs in the first 13 races. Blaney won the Nashville NASCAR race on the 1.33-mile concrete oval for his first win of the year. His last win came on Nov. 1 at Martinsville in 2024. "It's been pretty rocky this year — had a lot of misfortune and down times with crappy things happening to us," Blaney said. "It's like, 'What do we have to do finish these races or close one out and have things go our way. I don't want to say this was relief, but finally nothing crazy happened and we were able to run our own race, bring the speed and do our job very, very well." It was the 14th career win for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion. Advertisement It came after Blaney, in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, regained the lead after pitting for the last time and held off Carson Hocevar, who matched his career-best finish with a second-place finish. Denny Hamlin, in his 700th career start was third, 2024 Nashville race champion Joey Logano was fourth and William Byron finished fifth. "I didn't do anything different than I have all year," Blaney said. "It didn't get sideways for us. Everything kind of went like a normal race should go. We executed like we should and our speed in our car was good. "It feels like those races for our team are hard to come by. Like nothing funky happening or nothing playing out the normal way. It's nice it finally went that way tonight. The fastest car won the race and nothing whacky happened to keep us from winning the race." Blaney was definitely fast. He led for 139 of the 300 laps the last 32. Advertisement Hocevar stayed in second for long stretches, but never threatened to pass Blaney. He did not lead a lap. Hamlin took the lead with 45 laps to go before pitting five laps later. Hamlin moved back to fifth with 34 to go and third with 25 left. POINTS: NASCAR points standings: Cup Series points update after Nashville race More: NASCAR Nashville winners and losers: Carson Hocevar is fast, but not making friends WHO WON? NASCAR Nashville results: Ryan Blaney is winner, plus full leaderboard for Cracker Barrel 400 "I just couldn't run with (Blaney) there in the super long run," Hamlin said. "After 40 laps, I could maintain with him, but then after that he just pulled away and stretched it on us." Advertisement Byron remained in the top five for much of the race, but never believed he had the speed to catch Blaney or Hamlin. "I felt like our car potential was probably third, behind (Blaney) and (Hamlin)," Byron said. "We just never really got to restart with clean air. I think if we could have restarted with clean air, maybe we could have held them off, but it just seemed like we had to do too much to our car to keep up with those guys." Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Nashville race: Ryan Blaney wins first 2025 race
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jimmie Johnson joins hollywood agency, follows Tom Brady's playbook to build post-racing empire
NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson just made another big move, only this time, it wasn't in the driver's seat. Days after hitting 700 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Coca-Cola 600, the seven-time champion has, according to journalist Adam Stern, signed with top talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME), and his off track ambitions are getting serious. Advertisement The deal puts both Jimmie Johnson and his team, Legacy Motor Club, under WME's umbrella for full representation. Think media, endorsements, brand partnerships and more. It's a smart move for a guy who's done just about everything behind the wheel. If you've followed Johnson's career, you know Jimmie Johnson has never been one to sit still. Along with helping lead Legacy Motor Club (home to the №42 Toyota driven by John Hunter Nemechek and the №43 piloted by Erik Jones) he's also still running select races in the №84. But since his full-time racing retirement, he's been putting more thought into what comes after life on track. Enter WME. The agency that has helped people such as Tom Brady and Serena Williams use their sports fame to build thriving businesses. Johnson's looking to do the same. Advertisement Also Read:: WATCH: Kyle Larson crashes out twice in one day after $3 million double attempt IndyCar: The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 The NASCAR legend has already ventured into media with his company, Charlie Meatball Productions. He's also involved in real estate and hospitality ventures. With WME now, things can move quickly. No matter if it's brand campaigns, television work, Legacy sponsorships or new ideas to interact with the audience. The underlying goal is to create something bigger . Jimmie Johnson wants to keep pushing boundaries the way he always has, just now with a different kind of horsepower behind him. As he told Variety when launching Charlie Meatball Productions: 'We have plenty of irons in the fire,' Jimmie Johnson says. 'I'm looking for that passion in the partners we bring in, from the person telling the story to the people who are surrounded by it.' Also Read:: 4 Reasons Kevin Harvick Advocates for Canceling the All-Star Race
