By: Kevin Ramsell
Slinger, WI – Derek Kraus went wire-to-wire to claim his first victory in the Turn One CRA Pro Series presented by Chevrolet Performance’s inaugural visit to Slinger Speedway.
The second-generation driver from Stratford, Wisconsin, drove away to a 3.953-second victory over Jayden Johnson and Tyler Lipton.
The closest challenge Kraus had for the lead came on the restart after the halfway break as he started on the inside and was challenged by Chris Shannon, racing on the outside of Kraus, and Chase Pinsonneault right behind the two, waiting for an opportunity.
With his experience at the world’s fastest quarter-mile oval, Kraus would get away from the two at the start to open up his lead.
The only caution of the race flew on lap 54 when Chloe Mazzagatti and Michael Simko got together, causing Simko to spin.
During the caution, Shannon was experiencing electrical issues that sent him to the pits and ended his day early.
Kraus and Lupton battled for the lead on the restart, but it only took Kraus a few laps to get out ahead and pull away to the victory.
“I took the bottom on those restarts, probably should have taken the top, but was able to get it going again on the bottom,” Kraus said in victory lane. “So it took a little bit for the car to fire in, but once it did, we were gone.”
Johnson would get by Lupton with seven laps to go and secure the runner-up spot while Lupton held on to the final podium position.
Pinsonneault was fourth, with Albert Francis rounding out the top five.
Lupton set a fast time of 11.397 seconds.
The Turn One CRA Pro Series presented by Chevrolet Performance heads to Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Michigan, on Wednesday, July 22nd, for the Master of the Pro’s 200 featuring Kevin & Keelan Harvick. Tickets are on sale now through cra-racing.com.