Derek Kraus, piloting the #16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, had to pack his bag early for his race in the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix. After getting lucky with his early scare of spinning during the main event, deep into the race after the restart, Kraus caught himself in a wreck that took out five cars.

The young driver is a seasoned Truck Series campaigner and has also had stints in the Xfinity Series. In 2024, he rose the ranks and secured a partial schedule with Kaulig Racing, making his debut in Las Vegas last weekend. In just his second Cup Series race, the 22-year-old has now started to take note of how different the Next Gen Cup car is, and for the time being, he is not a fan of NASCAR’s mean machine.

Kraus is learning about the intricacies of driving the cup car the hard way

Speaking to the reporters after his exit from the race, he explained the difference between driving in a Cup car in comparison to a truck or Xfinity. “I’d say 10–15 times worse than anything I’ve ever driven. It’s pretty frustrating because you just catch people and you can’t pass. You can be a lot faster than somebody, catch them and you can’t pass. I thought trucks were bad, but these are pretty bad in traffic.”

While he was frustrated about his experience with the racecar, he also acknowledged that he would need to learn his trade to get the desired results. “So it’s just part of it; I’ve got to learn that. I mean, everybody else is getting through it and doing it good, so that’s just something I got to learn.”

Kraus’s Chevy was not up to speed against the Toyota car, and this is what led him to get caught in the major wreck that resulted in his exit. From racing in Vegas to then shifting to a short track package for the first time, it was going to be a tall order for the young driver to get any positives from the Phoenix race.

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Further shedding light on his previous incident in the race that sparked the first caution, Kraus explained his perspective on how he ended up spinning his car.

“These cup cars are very rigid”- Derek Kraus

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The #16 driver’s run wasn’t looking too promising since early on in the race. Not only did he inflict damage on his car, but his wreck proved to be a hammering blow for Austin Cindric’s hopes. The Penske driver was caught up in a sandwich situation between Kraus’s car and oncoming Austin Dillon’s ride.

Speaking about the incident, the 22-year-old said, “To be honest, it happened so fast, I don’t even know. I went below the apron like you do with a truck or the Indy car and went below the apron. As soon as I got the left front below, it literally just spun around. I’m sure it looks bad on TV, but it’s a part of learning. These cars are very rigid and unlike anything that I have ever driven before.”

Having run two of his six scheduled races with Kaulig, Kraus will start his next Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway on 5th May. Hopefully he’ll be able to get a better grip on Next-Gen cars till then. What do you think?