Rajah Kirby Caruth (born June 11, 2002) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of thr ...

, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado for

GMS Racing Petty GMS Motorsports, also known as GMS Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, is an American professional stock car racing team formed by Richard Petty and Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and operated by GMS Racing. In the NASCAR Cup Series they field ...

. Caruth is one of the five African-American drivers who are currently competing in NASCAR, alongside

Bubba Wallace William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity S ...

Jesse Iwuji Jesse Ekene Iwuji ( ; born August 12, 1987) is an American professional stock car racing driver and officer in the United States Navy Reserve. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 34 Chevrolet Camaro for Jesse Iwuji ...

, Blake Lothian, and Armani Williams.

Racing career

Early career

Rajah started his racing career at age 16, driving in the virtual 2018 eNASCAR Ignite Series on

iRacing ''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tr ...

. Rajah was able to catch the attention of the

NASCAR Drive for Diversity The Drive for Diversity (D4D) program is a development system instituted by the American auto racing league NASCAR. The program's purpose is to attract minority and female individuals to the sport, primarily as drivers, but also including ownersh ...

Program, which resulted in him having a shot at the 2019 Bojangles' Southern Shootout at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

in the legend cars category. Rajah ended his rookie season getting two top 10s, and ending up 13th in the Semi-pro points. In 2020, Caruth moved up to the

NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local short track motor racing around the United States and Ca ...

, where he won his first career

late model A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

race at

Greenville-Pickens Speedway Greenville-Pickens Speedway is a race track located in Easley, South Carolina, just west of Greenville, South Carolina. The track hosted weekly NASCAR sanctioned races. Several NASCAR touring series have raced at the track in prior years, includi ...

, and ending the rest of the season with 3 top 5s and 9 top 10s in a total of 19 late model starts. In 2021, Caruth returned to the

, and got his second and third

win after winning both

Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars". The t ...

late-model features. On May 1, 2021, Caruth won at the Tri-County Motor Speedway, his fourth overall late model win.

ARCA Menards Series East

On February 3, 2021, Caruth announced that he will run full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East for

Rev Racing Rev or Rév may refer to: Abbreviations Rev. * Rev., an abbreviation for revolution, as in Revolutions per minute * Rev., an abbreviation for the religious style The Reverend * Rev., the abbreviation for Runtime Revolution, a development environ ...

, and will compete for Rookie of the Year honors. Caruth was able to finish off the season with 2 top 5s, 3 top 10s, and 3 top 15s, ending up third in the standings. He made a one off start in the

2022 General Tire 125 The 2022 General Tire 125 was the third stock car race of the 2022 ARCA Menards Series East season, and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, April 29, 2022, in Dover, Delaware at Dover Motor Speedway, a 1 mile (1.6 km) ...

, starting 5th and finishing 4th. He is expected to run three more races in the 2022 season, which are all combination races with the main series.

ARCA Menards Series

On July 23, 2021,

announced on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that Caruth and teammate

Nick Sanchez Nicholas A. Sanchez (born June 10, 2001) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado for Rev Racing. He is the 2022 ARCA Menards Series ...

will drive in the 2021 Shore Lunch 150 at

Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...

, which will be Caruth's first

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nation ...

start. Caruth started 12th and finished 9th. On August 30, 2021, Caruth announced that he will drive full time in the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season with

. He earned his best career finish at the

2022 Dutch Boy 150 The 2022 Dutch Boy 150 was the fourth stock car race of the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season, and the third iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Kansas City, Kansas at Kansas Speedway, a 1.5 mile (4 km) permane ...

, finishing 2nd. After earning eight top fives and fourteen top tens throughout the season, he finished 3rd in the final standings.

ARCA Menards Series West

Caruth made his

ARCA Menards Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

start in the 2021 Arizona Lottery 100, where he started and finished the race in 8th. He made his second start in the 2022 General Tire 150, driving in the paired event with the main series. He started 7th and finished 4th.

Xfinity Series

2022

On August 30, 2021, along with the ARCA announcement,

Tommy Joe Martins Thomas Joseph Martins (born December 7, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 45 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. Racing career Martins began his ...

and

Caesar Bacarella Caesar P. Bacarella (born December 18, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 45 Chevrolet Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing. Bacarella has also driven in the AR ...

announced the formation of

Alpha Prime Racing Alpha Prime Racing (formerly Martins Motorsports) is an American stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR NASCAR Xfinity Series, Xfinity Series. The team was founded in 2009 by Craig Martins, and fields the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth ...

, that will compete in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, with Caruth set as one of the drivers for the team. On April 2, 2022, Caruth made his Xfinity Series debut at

Richmond Raceway Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...

in the 44. He started 22nd and finish 24th. He made his second start in the

2022 A-GAME 200 The 2022 A-GAME 200 was the 10th stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the 41st iteration of the event, and the fourth and final race of the Dash 4 Cash. The race was held on April 30, 2022, in Dover, Delaware at Dover Motor ...

, where he qualified an impressive 15th. Suspension issues ended Caruth's race on lap 58, and he finished dead last. At the Pocono race, Caruth was involved in a vicious wreck with

Alex Labbé Alex Labbé (born April 29, 1993) is a Canadian professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 36/90/92 Chevrolet Camaros for DGM Racing. The 2017 NASCAR Pinty's Series champion, he h ...

on the first lap, resulting in another last place finish. At

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, Caruth switched to the No. 45 car, sponsored by

. He finished 25th after the race ended after stage 2 due to inclement weather. He earned his first top 20 finish at

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, after finishing 20th in the race. At Martinsville, Caruth dodged numerous wrecks and finished 12th, earning his best career finish in the

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

. After the race, he had an altercation with

Jeb Burton John Edward "Jeb" Burton IV (born August 6, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro for Our Motorsports. He is the son of Ward Burton ...

Craftsman Truck Series

2022

On May 31, 2022, it was announced that Caruth would make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at the

World Wide Technology Raceway World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a ...

for

Spire Motorsports Spire Motorsports is an American auto racing organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is a subsidiary of Spire Sports + Entertainment. In the Cup Series, the team currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 teams: the No. 7 for Cor ...

. In his first start, Caruth initially scored in 10th, after the caution came out on the final lap. He was later scored in the 11th spot. At

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Caruth started 28th due to a bad qualifying run. He only moved up a few positions, and would finish 25th, four laps down. At

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, Caruth was involved in an accident with

Josh Reaume Joshua Robert Reaume (born October 11, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the Nos. 33 and 43 Toyota Tundras for his t ...

on lap 34, eventually retiring from the race ten laps later.

2023

On December 1, 2022, ''TobyChristie.com'' reported that Caruth will drive full-time in the Truck Series in

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, driving the No. 24 truck for

. It was also reported that The

Wendell Scott Wendell Oliver Scott (August 29, 1921 – December 23, 1990) was an American stock car racing driver. He was one of the first African-American drivers in NASCAR and the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series, NASCAR's h ...

Foundation will sponsor Caruth for part of his 2023 season. On December 6, it was officially confirmed that Caruth will drive for

in 2023.

Personal life

Caruth was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

to a Vincentian father and a Vincentian- Barbadian mother, but was raised in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. In June 2020, he was the subject of a NASCAR documentary, "''Through the Fences''," which aired on

Tempo Networks Tempo Networks is a pan-Caribbean television channel that broadcasts Caribbean music and other cultural products. Its programming includes music videos, news, dramas, and documentaries about Caribbean life. Musical genres broadcast include Regg ...

. It talks about Caruth's racing career and how he got accepted into the NASCAR

Drive for Diversity The Drive for Diversity (D4D) program is a development system instituted by the American auto racing league NASCAR. The program's purpose is to attract minority and female individuals to the sport, primarily as drivers, but also including ownersh ...

program. He was also featured in an episode of " ''The Family Business''" on

BET+ A bet is a gambling wager. Bet or BET may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Bet Lynch, a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' * Elizabeth "Bet" Yeager, protagonist of '' Rimrunners'', a science fiction ...

in July. He graduated from the School Without Walls High School in 2020, and is currently a junior at

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as Slater Industrial Academy o ...

, where he is a Motorsport management major.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

Craftsman Truck Series

ARCA Menards Series

( 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 East

ARCA Menards Series West

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caruth, Rajah Living people 2002 births Racing drivers from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American racing drivers NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers Sportspeople from Georgia (U.S. state)