Derek Kraus to race for Spire at Phoenix

Derek Kraus will round out the 2023 season with another start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Spire Motorsports.

Kraus will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire at Phoenix Raceway. Western States Flooring will sponsor Kraus.

Andrew Overstreet and Mike Hoffman will serve as crew chief and truck chief, respectively, for Kraus.

Spire officials said Kraus has been “nothing short of impressive.” At the Milwaukee Mile, he started 25th and drove to eighth in the first 56 laps.

Kraus maintained a top-10 spot and finished eighth, leading to his opportunity at Phoenix.

“Phoenix Raceway is one of my favorite races on the schedule, just because of how competitive the track is. I’m thankful to have Western States Flooring on board and looking forward to putting on a good show for that group. We had a good day at Milwaukee earlier this season so hopefully we can pull some notes from that weekend and put them to good use in Phoenix,” Kraus said.

Kraus lost his ride at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing at the end of 2022. 2023 was slow to start but he picked up four NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in the first 10 races. Then, he has raced three more times in the last six races.

Kraus started strong, finishing 10th and eighth in his first two starts, at Richmond and Martinsville, respectively.

Recently, he finished eighth at Kansas, 12th at Bristol and 11th at Homestead-Miami after scoring a stage win there.

Kraus’s 2024 plans are yet TBA.