Derek Kraus, an emerging talent in the NASCAR National Series ranks, will take over the reins of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado in the August 27th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at the Milwaukee Mile.
According to a press release from the team, Kraus will have primary sponsorship in the event from gener8tor Skills.
Kraus, who is a native of Wisconsin, is excited to be paired with a veteran crew chief heading into a race at his home track.
"I'm looking forward to working with Spire Motorsports and having [Kevin] Bono [Manion] as my crew chief," said Kraus. "I know that he is smart with the short, flat tracks, so I have a lot of confidence going into the race. It will also be cool to be racing in my home state, in front of many hometown fans. It should be a good race and I'm looking forward to it."
Manion, a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series championship-winning crew chief, is equally excited to partner with Kraus.
"Derek Kraus has an impressive pedigree and we're excited to put him in the seat at the Milwaukee Mile," said Manion. "The tradition of racing in Milwaukee is very well documented and some of the very best drivers from the Midwest have won races there. It's an exciting opportunity for Spire Motorsports to be able to race with someone who has a direct tie to the state of Wisconsin. We'll have a fast gener8tor Skills Chevrolet Silverado ready for Derek and we're going there with one goal in mind -- to bring home the trophy."
Kraus has competed in five NASCAR National Series races this season, four in the NASCAR Xfinity Series ranks for Kaulig Racing and one in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Young's Motorsports.
The young racer scored a pair of top-10 finishes in his part-time duty in the Xfinity series this season, and he even practiced and qualified in place of AJ Allmendinger in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing NASCAR Cup Series car at Richmond Raceway.
Kraus has amassed 26 top-10 finishes in 74 career starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Photo Credit: Spire Motorsports
