23-year-old Derek Kraus will be competing in his first NASCAR Cup Series race of the year at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the longest race on the NASCAR calendar. Kraus will be driving the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet and will have sponsorship from Western States Flooring. This race will see a full field of 40 cars with four open entries, a first since the Daytona season opener. Derek Kraus made six Cup Series starts last year, with his best finish being 28th at Las Vegas, and this will be his first appearance in the Coca-Cola 600.
In 2019, Kraus was the champion of the ARCA West Series and has also competed in 76 Truck Series races and eight Xfinity Series races, with his last Xfinity race being in 2023. He was a full-time Truck Series driver from 2020 to 2022, with a career-best finish of second place at Darlington. NY Racing Team has fielded four Cup starts this year as an open entry, with J.J. Yeley as the driver. Their best finish so far was 32nd at Talladega, and they also attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 but did not make the race.
