Veteran Pro Stock driver Deric Kramer had a decent 2021 NHRA campaign, finishing 10th in the season points standings.

However, one runner-up effort and three semifinal appearances wasn’t exactly what Kramer was looking for last year. He wants more success.

Kramer will be at the PRO Nitro Spring Training, Feb. 12-13, at Wild Horse Motorsports Park in Phoenix to get ready for the season-opening Winternationals Feb. 17-20, in Pomona, Calif.

“This will be my 10th year in the class, so I'm a grizzled old veteran at this point,” said Kramer, who lives in Denver. “So, it's pretty much knock the rust off on the first pass and then start fine tuning and honing everything in, so we can be ready for Pomona. We usually try and make ... When I first started, we were making 11 runs a day. Now, we're making six runs a day and calling it good. If we do 12, 14 runs, I'll be plenty pleased with my group.”

Kramer, who pilots a Camaro, will continue to get horsepower from Ken Black. He has partnered with KB, which is led by reigning world champion Greg Anderson, since 2018.

“Absolutely, yeah,” said Kramer when asked about enjoying his relationship with KB. “It's the best thing I've done in Pro Stock. They're the topnotch in the class for a reason, right? They've been up at the pinnacle of Pro Stock for a number of years, and their work ethic is beyond reproach. There's no question that if there's anything to be done with those guys, they're going to work on it and make sure that it happens.”

Kramer has won four career NHRA national events in the Pro Stock class, his last two coming in 2019 in Chicago and Charlotte (N.C., in the fall).

“It's been a little bit of a drought,” Kramer said since his last win. “Honestly, I just couldn't drive to save my life (in 2021). I was just really struggling. I don't know if the COVID year (2020) ... It was kind of just going through the motions in the COVID year. We were fighting a little bit of problems throughout both the COVID year and a little bit of last year. I had a bunch of good showings. I was No. 2 in points last year, got to the finals in Houston. (Then) I didn't win a round until the second race in the Countdown or something obnoxious like that.”

Kramer is ready to put the 2020 and 2021 season in the rear-view mirror and focus on 2022.

“I definitely am more excited to go racing and less excited to just do what I was trying to do in the first place, which is what I think was happening the last couple of years,” Kramer said. “So, yeah, there's definitely a revitalization in my approach to what I'm doing at this point. So, I'm looking forward to it for sure. Ultimately, that's the goal (to win a world championship). We brought on Adam Hornberger as well at the end of last season to kind of help us make sure we weren't missing something on our end and make sure everything was going right. It's just more eyes on the problem at hand. This class is definitely a huge advantage.”

Kramer said Michael Hiner will continue to serve as his crew chief.

“Honestly, the initial agreement (with KB) was to roll over a motor, and then we'd run it,” said Kramer, who is an iPhone App developer when he’s not racing. “It's become a full-on fledged partnership. My race car, my 2018 race car won the championship last year. Our runs go over to them, and anything we need, we walk over there and ask for it. It's huge (to be with KB). When there's eight, 10 other cars across the pits that are all a team, it's really hard to do it by yourself. It's definitely not like it was when I started in 2012. That's for sure.”

Kramer would love to jumpstart his 2022 slate with a Winternationals victory, but he’s also learned to keep perspective.

“Well, it's easier to stay at the top than it is climb to the top, I can tell you that right now,” Kramer said. “I'd say it's not as important as I thought it was when I first started. I'll elaborate on that a little bit. When I first started, I was only doing a handful of races. I had to do really good at the Winternationals so I could not go to Gainesville (Fla.), because we didn't drive that far. It was a huge commitment for us to go all the way across the country like that. So, if I could get in, if I could win a race and win a round in the Winternationals and win a round in Phoenix, I could be in the top 10 for a race or two, skip Gainesville, and then be in the top 10 for that next Vegas race or whatever schedule was at the time, right? So, that was super important.”

Kramer’s mindset changed when he began his KB partnership.

“Once I got power, and I started running with KB, I made it to the semifinals in my first race with them,” he said. “Then, I did a bonehead dumb move racing against Jason Line, because I was just trying to beat him. I shook, and he drove right by me. That happens, and you kind of get into this, oh, well, you know what? I just made it to the semis. I just went out there and did my thing. I didn't really worry about it, and it was really easy. But then I went to Phoenix, and I did the same thing. Funny story did dumb bonehead move; same deal next to Jason in the semis. It seems to be a trend here.

“Well, finally, fast forward a bunch of races, I raced Jason in the semis another time. I end up beating him, and then I win the race, right? Ultimately, if you just relax and go out there and run, you're going to do well. You just have to put all the pieces on the table and let pieces fall where they lie. Nine times out of 10, with the equipment that I have and the team that I've built and my abilities to drive, we're going to win more races than we lose. That's overall, the goal, and that's the mentality of my team. We come out here with the intention of winning every race, because we know we have the capability to do it.”