Wendell Scott may not have been the first African-American to compete in NASCAR’s top-tier racing series, but he surely was the first one to compete full-time. This paved the way for non-white drivers like Bubba Wallace and, later, for Rajah Caruth to believe that behind the wheels of a stock car, everyone is equal. Wallace is now a big name in the world of NASCAR and is currently the only black driver in the Cup Series. But can Caruth be the next one?
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Caruth doesn’t hail from a family of racers; his racing endeavor hence, started virtually through iRacing. The first time Caruth held the wheel of a racecar, he knew his journey wouldn’t be easy. The 20-year-old Winston-Salem State junior made his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway last year. And as he had expected, it wasn’t easy. He crashed out on lap 58 of the rain-shortened race and had to settle for a 29th-place finish.
However, racing has been a childhood dream for the “Cars” fan. When he got the opportunity to watch a NASCAR race upfront at Richmond, he was blown away by the thrill of it. He was just 12 back then. “Everything just seemed so infectious,” Caruth recalled. “From that point forward, it was like, I want to be a race car driver.”
Caruth’s passion for racing paid off in 2020 when he won his first Late Model race at South Carolina’s Greenville-Pickens Speedway. Referring to him as ‘little bro”, even Bubba Wallace applauded his victory.
Proud of the little bro!!!! @GP_Speedway has always been good to me, got my first win there back in 2010.
Keep grinding bro! @rajahcaruth_ https://t.co/PD4ilEVABc— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) October 4, 2020
Rajah Caruth lands a full-time ride with Spire Motorsports
With Hendrickscars.com as his primary sponsor for 10 of the 23 races, Caruth will be piloting the number 71 truck for Spire Motorsports. Caruth spent a year in the Truck Series with his previous team GMS Racing before it shut down last year, where he recorded four top-10s and ended the season 16th on points.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞, @rajahcaruth_ 👋
Rajah will pilot our No. 71 Silverado in the 2024 @NASCAR_Trucks season! @HendrickCars will be the primary sponsor on the truck for 10 races.
Learn more: https://t.co/bP5FBRnZ05 pic.twitter.com/RPkf4mdkqA
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) February 7, 2024
Therefore, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him do great in 2024. After all, he has been paired with veteran crew chief Chad Walter for his first season with Jeff Dickerson’s team.
Needless to say, Spire Motorsports is planning to make it big in NASCAR. With Chase Purdy and Caruth as teammates and Kyle Busch running selected Truck races, the Truck lineup for the Chevy team looks exciting for this year. Moreover, Spire is also expected to house trucks for Nick Sanchez and Rev Racing. Only time will tell how everything works out for Spire Motorsports and for Rajah Caruth.
