Former ARCA Standout Returns to NASCAR

What’s Happening?

A new name has been added to the entry list for this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. Derek Kraus, a former NASCAR Truck Series regular and ARCA Menards Series West champion, will race for NY Racing in their No. 44 car this Sunday.

NASCAR’s Charlotte Memorial Day Race Weekend: TV Schedule, Entry Lists, Race Info, and More

NASCAR’s Charlotte Memorial Day Race Weekend: TV Schedule, Entry Lists, Race Info, and More

What’s Happening? This weekend is the second Crown Jewel Event of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. A Memorial Day weekend…

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• This will be Kraus’s first NASCAR Cup Series race since the 2024 season finale at Phoenix. In that race, Kraus, driving for Kaulig Racing as part of their rotation of drivers in the No. 16, qualified 26th and scored a career-best 25th-place finish.
• Kraus was once a highly regarded prospect, winning 13 combined races in the ARCA Menards Series East and West divisions. However, after three disappointing seasons in the Truck Series for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Kraus stepped back to a part-time effort in the Xfinity and Truck Series in 2023, and the Cup Series in 2024.
• There are currently 40 entries for this Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, which will be NY Racing’s fifth start and sixth entry this season. So far, the team has entered J.J. Yeley in five races, including a failed attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500. This year, the car has started no better than 37th and finished no better than 32nd.
• Kraus and the No. 44 team join a short yet interesting list of open entries this weekend. Alongside NY Racing is another open entry, the No. 66 of Garage 66.
• However, two other open entries are making their second starts this season. Those are the No. 84 of Legacy Motor Club, driven by seven-time Champion Jimmie Johnson, and the Trackhouse Racing No. 87 of Xfinity Series rookie Connor Zilisch.

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