Why Denny Hamlin Feels There Is More to Come from NASCAR’s Newest Star Rajah Caruth

21-year-old Rajah Caruth won the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 last Friday and made history by becoming the only third Black driver to win a NASCAR race. He joined Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace in the elite list and proved his tremendous racing skill beyond doubt by leading 34 of the 121-lap race. Denny Hamlin congratulated him for the achievement and spoke about the magnitude of it on his podcast, Actions Detrimental.

He said, “Absolutely great accomplishment for sure,” and continued, “It’s not like he’s been in the sport a ton, you know, a really long time either. And he won it, you know, he won it outright, right? He did it.”

Visibly impressed with Caruth’s display, Denny Hamlin noted that he showed speed over the entire race and did not owe his victory to a trick or a strategy. Driving a Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports, the youngster has finished each race in the current season inside the top ten. Notably, he is still a senior at Winston-Salem University and got his entrée to NASCAR through iRacing.

Hamlin congratulated Caruth and Spire Motorsports for the great start they’ve had to the season. He quipped, “They’re definitely on a roll and it seems this could be a big momentum boost for Rajah and could propel him to who knows where right?”

“I think if he can continue to continue on this trajectory, uh, you know, winning a handful of races, he could be the next level, you know, the next level soon.”

Caruth is a graduate of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program and made his debut in a Legend car at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when he was just 17. Much like the reigning Daytona 500 champion, William Byron, he taught himself to speed on a computer.

Rajah Caruth eyes the Bristol victory lane days after capturing Las Vegas

Caruth spoke to NBC Sports on Monday about how his victory at Vegas had led to him receiving congratulatory messages from even those whom he has had differences with in the past. He continued to admit that the impact of the same hadn’t yet sunk in, but he was already preparing for the next race at Bristol.

Going forward, he wants NASCAR to reach a level where a Black driver winning a race isn’t the headline anymore. In his words, “Hopefully, we continue over the years to continue to grow more representation because we see it on our pit crews, and we are starting to see in race teams, whether it be through our engineering or PR departments, obviously at NASCAR.”

Caruth will soon get a shot at equaling Bubba Wallace’s number of NASCAR wins when he races at the Weather Guard Truck Race on Sunday.