KRAUS DRIVES TO RUNNER-UP FINISH IN DARLINGTON
Rookie of the Year contender Derek Kraus earns career-best finish
DARLINGTON, South Carolina (September 6, 2020) – Derek Kraus drove to a career-best second-place finish drove to lead Toyota at the South Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday afternoon. Truck Series points Leader Austin Hill (third), Christian Eckes (fifth), Raphael Lessard (sixth) and Stewart Friesen (eighth) joined Kraus inside the top-10.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
Darlington Raceway
Race 15 of 23 – 147 Laps, 200.8 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Ben Rhodes *
2nd, DEREK KRAUS
3rd, AUSTIN HILL
4th, Grant Enfinger*
5th, CHRISTIAN ECKES
6th, RAPHAEL LESSARD
8th, STEWART FRIESEN
20th, DANNY BOHN
21st, CLAY GREENFIELD
23rd, CHANDLER SMITH
28th, JOSH REAUME
34th, BRYANT BARNHILL
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
DEREK KRAUS, No. 19 Ron Hornaday Throwback/NAPA Toyota Tundra, McAnally Hilgemann Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
What did you think of the pit call to stay on the race track when the leaders pitted?
“Kevin (Bellicourt, crew chief) up on top of the box made a really good call there at the end. Got a good restart and did everything I needed to, but there off of two – I got really loose off of two. It was my mistake, but overall I felt like it was a great day. We struggled some in the beginning, but Kevin got this NAPA Filters Toyota Tundra tuned up for the end of the race.”
How aggressive was the racing between yourself and Todd Gilliland?
“That was really fun racing with Todd (Gilliland). I got into him a little bit, but you have to do that, you have to be there and be aggressive to make the top-10 in the Playoffs.”
Can you take us through the last few laps?
“Kind of struggled all day and couldn’t get very good track position. Then at the end, we finally got a little bit of track position. Kevin (Bellicourt, crew chief) and the guys worked on the truck really good. We got a good restart and did everything we needed to do. Then I just got really loose off of two and it was kind of my fault, but we’ll move onto Richmond.”
How much momentum does this finish give you for Richmond?
“It definitely helps, that’s for sure. I feel like Richmond will fall into our hands a little bit. I feel like we’ll be able to adapt to the track quick and how it wears out. Have to be there at the end of those things so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Did you base the strategy at the end on what your fellow Playoff bubble competitors did?
“They were behind us so if they pitted and I didn’t, we wouldn’t really have had an idea because they were two spots behind us at the time. We just had our game plan right away and we were going to stay out. It worked out good and I was able to get a good restart.”
How do you feel going into Richmond being 10 points out of the Playoffs?
“I’ve never been there before, but I feel like I can kind of base it off of Kern County, it kind of has that same D-shaped oval and just grip-wise, it wears out like today at Darlington and also at Atlanta. I kind of grew up racing at those kind of race tracks where the tires fall off and you have to be able to save your tires for the end of the race. I enjoy going to those type of race tracks. Hopefully at Richmond we’ll have a good truck and be there and have a good points day.”
Do you think you could have held off Ben Rhodes if not for the slip in turn two?
“I feel like it definitely would have been harder for him to pass me. I got loose and kind of just gave it to him. I feel like if I would have been able to get a good run off of two and make no mistakes, it would have definitely been harder for him to pass me. I feel like his truck was probably a little bit better than mine, but with clean air, my truck definitely handled better.”
Are you very calm in the current situation heading to Richmond?
“It’s definitely going to be nerve-wracking going into the last race being 10 points out. I feel like we just have to do everything in our power and if we end up winning or end up getting in, that’s just going to happen. I feel like we had a really good run there today at the end and it’s a really good finish and we can carry this momentum into Richmond.”
How aggressive will you be at Richmond to try to get into the Playoffs?
“I’m definitely going to have to be aggressive just from being where we are in the points. It’s kind of going to have to be cautiously aggressive until the end if we have a chance to win. Definitely going to have to be smart and make the right choices if I need to move somebody out of the way. If I do, I need to make the right choice and do it good enough that I don’t damage my truck or damage the other person. It’s definitely going to be a fun race and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Do you have more confidence with Kevin Bellicourt as your crew chief?
“Kevin (Bellicourt, crew chief) knows what he’s doing. He’s really good at adjusting on my truck and making the right changes. He’s got the experience in the Playoffs and he’s definitely been in spots like this where we have to go in and run really well. I really have a lot of faith in him and my team, they’ll bring me a really good Toyota Tundra next weekend to Richmond.”
AUSTIN HILL, No. 16 Gunma Toyopet Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Finishing Position: 3rd
Can you sum up your race today?
“Our Gunma Toyopet Tundra was really good on the long runs. The 2 (Sheldon Creed) and the 23 (Brett Moffitt) were a little bit better than us on short runs for a good 15 or so laps and then we’d start reeling them in a little it. All in all, it was a good effort for us today. We did what we had to do. We just wanted to keep this points lead and keep stacking up points. We also wanted this win really bad. We thought we would drag more people down knowing that the 2, me and Moffitt, we were the top-three guys and we came down pit road. We thought we would have drug more people. Restarting 11th like we did and coming back to third was good, but it’s frustrating. Especially when we felt like we had a really good truck. We felt like we were just as good as the 2 and the 23. Felt like one of us three should have won the race today. I thought we had a shot at it, we made a call and we stuck with it. It didn’t pan out, but you can’t say that all these guys at HRE (Hattori Racing Enterprises) aren’t trying to win these races and trying to do some different strategy from other guys to get the job done. It just shows how good we are and we were good all day, we just didn’t close it out.”
How many other trucks did you expect to come to pit road?
“We figured if the 2 (Sheldon Creed) and the 23 (Brett Moffitt) pitted with us that it would bring some other guys down pit road and we kind of figured that the guys that are on the bubble for the Playoffs would probably stay out. The three or four guys that are fighting for that last spot, we figured they would stay out or guys that need a win would definitely stay out. We were kind of surprised that 10 or 11 of them stayed out and we restarted there in 11th. It’s one of those things, damed if you do, damed if you don’t type deals. It’s one of those calls that you have to make and they left it up to me. When I saw the 2 and the 23 going with me, I knew those were the two guys I was racing all day. Us three were kind of the class of the field. I figured that I needed to pit with them. All it took was having a caution, if we would have had a caution after we got through turn one and two really good and we got to stack them back up, it would have been a totally different outcome. We would have definitely won the race just because of how much faster new tires were. Then I got bottled up on that green flag start coming off of two and then actually entry into three, I got bottled up behind somebody so that kind of hurt my speed a little bit coming to the white. It’s one of those things that you look back on, we feel like we made the right call, but we needed a few more guys. Even if we had two or three more guys come down pit road with us, that would have changed the whole outcome.”
Should Darlington be a regular race on the Truck Series schedule?
“I’m going to say for sure, 100 percent. I’m not just saying that because we ran really well today, it’s just a really cool race track. It’s very unique. There’s no other race track like this. Tire wear is big. Turn one and two is totally different than any other race track you go to. You’re entry to one, you’re rolling out of the throttle a little bit and then you get back wide open and then you kind of reset again past center to get off turn two really good and there’s a lot of patches through there. It’s a very challenging and technical race track. There’s a lot of lanes you can run in three and four. We were really good for a few laps on the top and then we’d be good on the bottom. It’s just one of those race tracks where you can move around. Clean air was big, that was obviously a big thing was clean air. I still thought the race was really good just the way it played out and the way we could battle there. I think it should definitely be a race track that we keep coming to and maybe even a race track you start putting in the Playoffs.”
Are there any tracks you’re nervous about in the Playoffs that make you really want to get those 15 bonus points for regular season champion?
“You look at the schedule and you look at the Playoffs, short tracks have not always been great to us. We had a decent showing at Gateway and we feel like that’s a pretty difficult short track to get around. Really tight corners in turn one and two then totally different in three and four. We had a good showing there and we persevered. We didn’t start off good there and then we got good by the end of the race and that was a brand new package that we’re trying and we’re experimenting with. We don’t have practice so we’re just experimenting with some things. Hopefully the short tracks we can be better at. Bristol is kind of one of those race tracks that if you look at my track record, it hasn’t always been great. That’s obviously one of the race tracks and then when you go to Talladega, that’s always a place that you don’t know what’s going to happen. Just one of those crazy races that you just try to get to the end of. Then you have your Martinsville and all that. I just think those short tracks are just tracks that you never know what’s going to happen and it’s really tight-quartered racing and a lot of bumping and banging going on. It’s always nice just to have some extra bonus points to lean on in case you have a bad race that you can look back on and at least you have some points to lean on.”
CHRISTIAN ECKES, No. 18 Safelite Toyota Tundra Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 5th
It was your first race here. How was your run today at Darlington Raceway?
“Yeah, we had an okay race. We exectued really well from the last few weeks and how we haven’t had a good result, so it’s definitely a lot better than where we were. So, fifth-place is a still okay, but not good enough. We need to be a little bit better, but overall it was a good day for execution for this Safelite Toyota team.”
You clinched a Playoff spot with your performance today. What is your focus for Richmond knowing that you have a locked in spot?
“At the end of the day, we can’t really move any further ahead unless we win a race. Our full intent is to go and contend as hard as we can and be as aggressive as we can to go get a win, so we can get some Playoff points. Definitely makes it a little bit less stressful going into Richmond, and definitely gracious for that. We will just go and race the hell out of them.”
RAPHAEL LESSARD, No. 4 Mobil1 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 6th
Four top-10 finishes in the last five races. How was your race?
“We had a really good truck. I was just learning the race track the first few laps. I feel like I picked up the race track really good. The TRD simulator helped me a ton for that. It was just like I had already been there before. We were really good at the beginning, running the top-five. I think we just lost the end a little bit and we were fighting a little bit too loose most of the race, but we got it pretty good at the end. I was pretty conservative with my line, not running too close to the wall most of the day. At the end, I just started going right around as close as I could get to the fence. I found a lot of speed there. I should have done that before, but oh well. Overall, we gambled on the last caution by pitting. We didn’t gain nothing, because we were p6, and then we came out p16, and we ended up p6. Really close to a shot at winning the race I feel like with our strategy, we just needed a little bit more left, but overall, we are getting really good. We are getting better every week, and the goal is to go win at Richmond next week to be able to be in the Playoffs. I just can’t thank everyone at Mobil1, Canac, Kyle Busch Motorsports, Toyota and TRD for everything they do. We are getting there. It’s fun to see that we are running some good races.”
STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar ‘Racing To Beat Hunger’ Toyota Tundra, Halmar Friesen Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
You had a beautiful paint scheme today, and you did it proud driving it to your fourth straight top-10 finish. How was your finish?
“It was cool to run my Pops’ 52 Coupe scheme from the early 70’s. It was really special, but that was about the most fun I had today. We were just really bad. We struggled with handling all day. Thank God for the choose rule, because the last couple weeks it’s got us at least into the top-10. We just have to be better.”
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