Rajah Kirby Caruth (born June 11, 2002) is an American professionalstock car racing driver. He competes full-time in theNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 71Chevrolet Silverado RST forSpire Motorsports. On March 1, 2024, Caruth won the2024 Victoria's Voice Foundation 200, becoming the thirdBlack driver to win in one ofNASCAR's three national series, joiningWendell Scott andBubba Wallace.
Rajah first got his love for racing after watchingDisney Pixar'sCars as a kid. When he was 12, his parents surprised him with a trip to theNASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway in September.[1] In 2018, while juggling from school, basketball, track, and a summer job, Caruth and his family fundraised aniRacing sim, and once he turned 16 on June 11, he began racing virtually in the eNASCAR Ignite Series.[2] Rajah was able to catch the attention of theNASCAR Drive for Diversity Program, which resulted in him having a shot to race in a legends car atCharlotte Motor Speedway in 2019 for theBojangles' Southern Shootout. Rajah ended his rookie season getting two top 10s, and ending up 13th in the Semi-pro points.[3]
In 2020, Caruth moved up to theNASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, where he won his first careerlate model race atGreenville-Pickens Speedway and ended the rest of the season with 3 top 5s and 9 top 10s in a total of 19 late model starts.[4] In 2021, Caruth returned to theNASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, and got his second and thirdlate model win after winning bothHickory Motor Speedway late model features. On May 1, 2021, Caruth won at the Tri-County Motor Speedway, becoming the first African-American driver to win at Tri-County, and earning his fourth overall late model win.[5][6]
On February 3, 2021, Caruth announced that he would run full-time in theARCA Menards Series East forRev Racing, and will compete for Rookie of the Year honors. Caruth finished the season with 2 top 5s, 3 top 10s, and 3 top 15s, ending up third in the standings.[7] He made a one-off start in the2022 General Tire 125, starting 5th and finishing 4th. He ran three more races that season, which were all combination races with the main series.
On July 23, 2021,Rev Racing announced onTwitter that Caruth and teammateNick Sanchez would drive in the 2021 Shore Lunch 150 atIowa Speedway, which was Caruth's firstARCA Menards Series start. Caruth started 12th and finished 9th.[8]
Caruth made hisARCA Menards Series West start in the2021 Arizona Lottery 100, where he started and finished the race in 8th. He made his second start in the2022 General Tire 150, driving in the paired event with the main series. He started 7th and finished 4th.
On August 30, 2021, Caruth announced that he would drive full-time in the2022 ARCA Menards Series season withRev Racing.[9] He earned his best career finish at the2022 Dutch Boy 150, finishing 2nd.[10] After earning eight top fives and fourteen top tens throughout the season, he finished 3rd in the final standings.[11]
On August 30, 2021, along with the ARCA announcement,Tommy Joe Martins andCaesar Bacarella announced the formation ofAlpha Prime Racing, which will compete in the2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, with Caruth set as one of the drivers for the team.[12] On April 2, 2022, Caruth made his Xfinity Series debut atRichmond Raceway in the 44.[13] He started 22nd and finish 24th.[14] He made his second start in the2022 A-GAME 200, where he qualified an impressive 15th.[15] Suspension issues ended Caruth's race on lap 58, and he finished dead last.[16] Atthe Pocono race, Caruth was involved in a vicious wreck withAlex Labbé on the first lap, resulting in another last-place finish.[17] AtKansas, Caruth switched to the No. 45 car, sponsored byiRacing. He finished 25th after the race ended after stage 2 due to inclement weather. He earned his first top 20 finish atLas Vegas, after finishing 20th in the race.[18] AtMartinsville, Caruth dodged numerous wrecks and finished 12th, earning his best career finish in theXfinity Series. After the race, he had an altercation withJeb Burton.[19]
On January 27, 2023, Caruth announced that he would return toAlpha Prime Racing for the2023 season, running another partial schedule.[20] He earned his best finish of 12th at Martinsville, surviving a crash-filled race.[21] On September 26, it was announced that Caruth would drive the No. 17Chevrolet forHendrick Motorsports in the season finale atPhoenix Raceway.[22] Caruth consistently ran near the top ten throughout the race, and was in contention of earning his first top ten, until he got put into the wall byJohn Hunter Nemechek on the final lap, ultimately finishing 14th.[23]
On May 31, 2022, it was announced that Caruth would make hisNASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at theWorld Wide Technology Raceway forSpire Motorsports.[24] In his first start, Caruth initially finished in 10th, after the caution came out on the final lap. He was later scored in the 11th spot.[25] AtRichmond, Caruth started 28th and finished 25th, four laps down.[26] AtBristol, Caruth was involved in an accident withJosh Reaume on lap 34, eventually retiring from the race ten laps later.[27]
On December 1, 2022,TobyChristie.com reported that Caruth would drive full-time in the Truck Series in2023, driving the No. 24 truck forGMS Racing. It was also reported that TheWendell Scott Foundation will sponsor Caruth for part of his 2023 season.[28] On December 6, it was officially confirmed that Caruth would drive forGMS Racing in 2023.[29] After a rough start to the season with three DNF's, Caruth earned his best career finish of 6th atDarlington Raceway in May.[30] Caruth continued to struggle throughout the regular season, and failed to make to playoffs. During the playoffs, Caruth improved his performance, earning three top-ten finishes with a worst finish of 14th. He finished the season 16th in points, and 4th in Rookie of the Year standings.
On February 7, 2024, it was announced that Caruth would drive forSpire Motorsports full-time in the2024 season, driving the No. 71 truck.[31] On the final lap of theseason-opener at Daytona, Caruth drifted up the racetrack at the exit of turn two, spinning outJack Wood and collecting numerous trucks. Despite this, Caruth managed to earn a best career finish of 3rd.[32][33] The following week, he earned an 8th place finish atAtlanta. On February 28, it was announced that HendrickCars.com would sponsor Caruth for all 23 races of the season, after previously announcing they would sponsor for 10 races.[34] AtLas Vegas, Caruth scored his first career win, becoming only the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race.[35] Caruth would advance into the playoffs, but he would be eliminated in the Round of 8 and finish seventh in the point standings. On November 22, 2024, Caruth was named Most Popular Driver of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.[36]
On December 13, 2024, it was announced that Caruth would return to the team in 2025.
Caruth was born inAtlanta, Georgia to aVincentian father and a Vincentian-Barbadian mother,[37] but was raised inBrooklyn, New York, andWashington, D.C.
In June 2020, he was the subject of a NASCAR documentary, "Through the Fences," which aired onTempo Networks. It talks about Caruth's racing career and how he was accepted into the NASCARDrive for Diversity program. He was also featured in an episode of "The Family Business" onBET+ in July.[38]
He graduated from theSchool Without Walls High School in 2020.[39]
On December 27, 2022, it was announced that Caruth would joinRichard Petty on NASCAR'sfloat in the 2023Rose Parade.[40] He is good friends with fellow driverBubba Wallace, who serves as his mentor during the races.[41]
In 2023, Caruth was the subject of another documentary,Outside Line, which premiered on November 9th during theDoc NYC Festival.[42] Caruth is currently in a relationship with actress and producer,Marsai Martin.[43]
In 2024, he graduated fromWinston-Salem State University with a Bachelor of Science in Motorsports Management.[44]
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ARCA Menards Series | Rev Racing | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 180 | 23rd |
| ARCA Menards Series East | 8 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 386 | 3rd | ||
| ARCA Menards Series West | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 47th | ||
| 2022 | ARCA Menards Series | Rev Racing | 20 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 932 | 3rd |
| ARCA Menards Series East | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 202 | 8th | ||
| ARCA Menards Series West | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 49th | ||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series | Alpha Prime Racing | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| NASCAR Truck Series | Spire Motorsports | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 43rd | |
| 2023 | NASCAR Xfinity Series | Alpha Prime Racing Hendrick Motorsports | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† |
| NASCAR Truck Series | GMS Racing | 23 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 482 | 16th | |
| 2024 | NASCAR Truck Series | Spire Motorsports | 23 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 2213 | 7th |
† As Caruth was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| NASCAR Xfinity Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | NXSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2022 | Alpha Prime Racing | 44 | Chevy | DAY | CAL | LVS | PHO | ATL | COA | RCH 24 | MAR | TAL | DOV 38 | DAR | TEX | CLT | PIR | NSH | ROA | ATL | NHA | POC 38 | IRC | MCH | GLN | DAY | DAR | LVS 20 | HOM | MAR 12 | PHO 17 | 92nd | 01 | [45] | |||||
| 45 | KAN 25 | BRI | TEX | TAL | ROV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | DAY | CAL 21 | LVS 26 | PHO | ATL | COA | RCH | MAR | TAL | DOV 26 | DAR | DAR 16 | KAN 29 | LVS 23 | HOM | 90th | 01 | [46] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 44 | CLT 25 | PIR | SON | NSH | CSC | ATL | NHA 37 | POC | ROA | MCH | IRC | GLN | DAY | BRI 17 | TEX | ROV 19 | MAR 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hendrick Motorsports | 17 | Chevy | PHO 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | NCTC | Pts | Ref | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | Spire Motorsports | 7 | Chevy | DAY | LVS | ATL | COA | MAR | BRD | DAR | KAN | TEX | CLT | GTW 11 | SON | KNX | NSH | MOH | POC | IRP | RCH 25 | KAN | BRI 34 | TAL | HOM | PHO 32 | 43rd | 46 | [47] | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | GMS Racing | 24 | Chevy | DAY 29 | LVS 29 | ATL 25 | COA 13 | TEX 19 | BRD 11 | MAR 25 | KAN 34 | DAR 6 | NWS 34 | CLT 11 | GTW 15 | NSH 32 | MOH 29 | POC 16 | RCH 19 | IRP 7 | MLW 14 | KAN 12 | BRI 6 | TAL 12 | HOM 8 | PHO 12 | 16th | 482 | [48] | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Spire Motorsports | 71 | Chevy | DAY 3 | ATL 8 | LVS 1 | BRI 8 | COA 15 | MAR 7 | TEX 12 | KAN 13 | DAR 30 | NWS 14 | CLT 16 | GTW 16 | NSH 4 | POC 10 | IRP 8 | RCH 17 | MLW 18 | BRI 3 | KAN 7 | TAL 4 | HOM 8 | MAR 31 | PHO 13 | 7th | 2213 | [49] | ||||||||||||||
| 2025 | DAY 30 | ATL 29 | LVS 7 | HOM 22 | MAR | BRI | CAR | TEX | KAN | NWS | CLT | NSH | MCH | POC | LRP | IRP | GLN | RCH | DAR | BRI | NHA | ROV | TAL | MAR | PHO | -* | -* | [50] | |||||||||||||||
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)
| ARCA Menards Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | AMSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2021 | Rev Racing | 6 | Chevy | DAY | PHO | TAL | KAN | TOL | CLT | MOH | POC | ELK | BLN | IOW 9 | WIN | GLN | MCH | ISF | MLW 13 | DSF | BRI 6 | SLM 3 | KAN 9 | 23rd | 180 | [51] |
| 2022 | DAY 11 | TAL 6 | KAN 2 | CLT 3 | IOW 12 | BLN 5 | ELK 7 | MOH 9 | POC 4 | IRP 8 | MCH 6 | GLN 11 | ISF 6 | MLW 4 | DSF 17 | KAN 12 | BRI 4 | SLM 15 | TOL 5 | 3rd | 932 | [52] | ||||
| 61 | PHO 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ARCA Menards Series East results | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | AMSEC | Pts | Ref | ||||
| 2021 | Rev Racing | 6 | Chevy | NSM 11 | FIF 4 | NSV 6 | DOV 14 | SNM 3 | IOW 9 | MLW 13 | BRI 6 | 3rd | 336 | [53] | ||||
| 2022 | NSM | FIF | DOV 4 | NSV | IOW 12 | MLW 4 | BRI 4 | 8th | 152 | [54] | ||||||||
| ARCA Menards Series West results | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | AMSWC | Pts | Ref |
| 2021 | Rev Racing | 66 | Chevy | PHO | SON | IRW | CNS | IRW | PIR | LVS | AAS | PHO 8 | 47th | 36 | [55] | ||
| 2022 | 61 | PHO 4 | IRW | KCR | PIR | SON | IRW | EVG | PIR | AAS | LVS | PHO | 49th | 40 | [56] | ||
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)
| CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | CLMSCTC | Pts | Ref | |
| 2022 | Carroll Speedshop | 8RC | Chevy | CRW | HCY | GPS | AAS | FCS | LGY | DOM | HCY DNQ | ACE | MMS | NWS | TCM | ACE | SBO | CRW | 80th | 2 | [57] | |
Tomorrow, @Nicksanchez080 and @rajahcaruth_ head to @iowaspeedway to race in the #ShoreLunch150! Catch the action at 9PM EST on @_TrackPass or on @MAVTV!
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