“I thought trucks were bad, but these are pretty bad in traffic”: Derek Kraus doesn't hold back as he criticizes handling of NASCAR Cup cars

NASCAR Cup Series debutant Derek Kraus has reflected on his lackluster outing at the Phoenix Raceway, critically scrutinizing the NASCAR Cup Series cars.

The fourth race on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series calendar constituted 312 laps distributed across 3 Stages. Stage 1 went for 60 laps, followed by the 125-lap Stage 2. The Final Stage saw drivers running for 127 laps before the checkered flag dropped.

On one side, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell sealed his maiden 2024 Cup Series victory with teammate Ty Gibbs bringing in a P3 finish. On the other side, debutant Derek Kraus saw himself spinning out early on in the race. On lap six, while maneuvering through the turn, the Kaulig Racing driver's car spun on the track bringing up the first caution of the race.

Luckily, Austin Cindric brushed past Kraus' #16 Chevrolet, but Austin Dillon couldn't see through the smoke generated by the screeching rubber and crashed into the debutant's car as it stopped on the racing line of the Richard Childress Racing driver.

Post his Cup Series stint, Derek Krauss outlined how his belief about handling the Cup Series cars was shattered. The Wisconsin native's post-race interview was shared by Frontstretch on their X (formerly Twitter) account:

"I'd say it's 10-15 times worse than anything I've ever driven. It's pretty frustrating because you just catch people and can't pass. You can be a lot faster than somebody, catch him and you can't pass. I thought trucks were bad, but these are pretty bad in traffic."

Austin Dillon opens up on the caution initiated by Derek Kraus that ended his outing on a dismal note

The RCR driver has four NASCAR Cup Series wins, including a P1 finish at the 2018 Great American Race at the Daytona International Speedway. However, his entry into the 2024 season is not a dominant one.

Dillon's best performance this season was at the Ambetter Health 400 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he finished at P10. He finished outside the top 10s in Daytona 500, Las Vegas, and PIR races, with a P33, P19, and P30 respectively.

Despite getting wrecked into Derek Krauss' #16 Camaro ZL1, Dillon's car was sent back on the 1-mile asphalt with some repair work done by the team. It cost him a three-lap deficit to the leading driver.

Dillon shared his post-race thoughts on X (formerly Twitter) account:

"Streak of bad luck continues. Got in the first wreck, I just got throttling [into Kraus], couldn't slow up, got the left front pretty bad."