TUCSON, Ariz. — It’s Derek Kraus’ world and we’re all just living in it.
Tucson was twice as nice for the Stratford, Wis., native on Saturday night, as he swept the Port of Tucson Twin 100s for his third and fourth K&N Pro Series victories of the season and first wins on the West coast.
Coming off the second Twin 100 victory at South Boston Speedway in the K&N Pro Series East (where he has two victories this year), Kraus and the No. 16 Bill McAnally Racing team established a goal to win both races and take a stranglehold in the championship standings coming into Arizona.
They did exactly that.
“That was the goal coming into this race,” Kraus said. “Now we got the points lead going into the next K&N West race. That was really good and we’ll look to stay consistent the rest of the season. We just had to stay patient and it paid off at the end.”
In the first Twin 100, Kraus took the lead from pole sitter Tanner Gray going into turn one and never relinquished the top spot, leading all 100 laps.
Gray, Hailie Deegan, Jagger Jones and Brittney Zamora rounded out the top five finishers in race one.
Race two was a different story for Kraus, who didn’t grab the lead until past the halfway point. But once he did, it was smooth sailing to another victory.
Gray came home second for the second consecutive race, with Zamora finishing a career-best third after leading 26 laps from the pole. Trevor Huddleston and Matt Levin completed the top five.
The finishes:
Race No. 1: Derek Kraus, Tanner Gray, Hailie Deegan, Jagger Jones, Brittney Zamora, Matt Levin, Trevor Huddleston, Todd Souza, Dustin Ash, John Wood, Kody Vanderwal, Ron Jay, Bobby Hillis Jr, Austin Thom, Takuma Koga, Travis Milburn, Bill Kann.
Race No. 2: Derek Kraus, Tanner Gray, Brittney Zamora, Trevor Huddleston, Matt Levin, Jagger Jones, Dustin Ash, Travis Milburn, Takuma Koga, Bill Kahn, Austin Thom, Kody Vanderwal, Ron Jay, Bobby Hillis Jr., Hailie Deegan, Todd Souza.