Derek Kraus Wins Inaugural Turn One CRA Pro Series Event at Slinger

Derek Kraus defended home turf on Monday night, winning the inaugural Turn One CRA Pro Series contest at Slinger Super Speedway.

The Stratford, Wisconsin native won in his first start with the Turn One CRA Pro Series, leading every lap of the Fire Suppression Solutions 100 at the high-banked quarter-mile.

While Kraus led from flag to flag in the 100-lap contest, he fended off challenges from Chris Shannon and Tyler Lupton on a pair of restarts before pulling away to a win by nearly four seconds over Jayden Johnson.

"I took the bottom, probably should have taken the top," said Kraus about the final restart. "I had success on the bottom on the first couple of restarts. I just was able to get it going again on the bottom. Took a little bit for the car to fire in, but once it did, Alex and Butch and Billy had a really great race car. Thankful to drive their car, good start to the weekend."

While Kraus has turned plenty of laps at Slinger, most of those have come in Super Late Models. The Pro Late Model provided a unique challenge for Kraus as he battled against the touring stars of the CRA Pro Series.

"They're fun," Kraus said. "A lot of throttle time, for sure. I felt like there was absolutely no falloff, so definitely had to just kind of go as hard as you could and hope it lasts. Luckily, it did."

After a lengthy battle with Lupton, Johnson moved into the second position with seven laps to go. That allowed him to finish in the runner-up spot on a night that proved to be a huge learning experience.

"I knew we had a fast car," said Johnson. "When I listened to my guys, I ended up running faster. I ran one of my fastest laps of the race on lap 95. We were just learning and getting better every day.

"I had to stop overdriving the car into three. That was my main problem. I was getting free because I was overdriving the car, thinking I had more than I did. Overall, it ended up okay. Sure would have liked to have won, but it is what it is."

With Slinger being a brand-new venue for the CRA Pro Series, many drivers were racing there for the first time. Tyler Lupton was one such driver, rounding out the podium with a third-place finish.

"I just haven't raced here before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect," Lupton said. "It was great racing and I had a lot of fun. I can't thank CRA for putting on this great show.

"I was a little tight off at the end. We were able to hang with them for quite a bit there towards the end, and we ended up getting third, so it was a pretty good finish."

Chase Pinsonneault, who entered the race leading the Turn One CRA Pro Series standings, finished fourth, with Albert Francis placing fifth. Billy VanMeter, Kooper Guralski, Austin Hull, Blake Rowe and Kevin Cremonesi made up the rest of the top 10.

While Chris Shannon was in contention for the win entering the final 30 laps of the race, an electrical issue sent him pitside and brought an early end to his race.

The Turn One CRA Pro Series will be back in action with another mid-week race next Wednesday, July 22. The series heads to Owosso Speedway for one of its marquee events, the Masters of the Pros 200.

-Photo credit: Champion Racing Association

Fire Suppression Solutions 100 Unofficial Results