Rajah Caruth clinched victory at the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marking his inaugural win in the Nascar Truck Series. He becomes the third Black individual to achieve this feat, following Wendell Scott in 1963 and Bubba Wallace in 2021.
Reflecting on his triumph in a conversation with The Washington Post, Caruth expressed astonishment, stating, “I’m genuinely surprised. Our race strategy fell into place perfectly. It’s hard to believe that success came so early in the year.”
The Washington, DC native celebrated by spinning his No. 71 Chevrolet with joy after the race, steering it towards the infield. Describing his victory as “surreal,” he later shared with reporters, “There were many days, particularly in high school, when I doubted I could reach this point.”
Caruth’s path to success was challenging, starting in high school with an online racing simulator in the kitchen of his Northwest Washington home.
Looking back, The Washington Post highlighted how Caruth’s victory represents significant progress since Scott’s pioneering win. Scott’s achievement was overshadowed as he didn’t witness the checkered flag due to concerns about reactions from the crowd, particularly because the winner was expected to kiss a White beauty queen in the winner’s circle.
As the third Black driver to win a NASCAR national series race, the 21-year-old emphasized the importance of representation, stating, “I believe it’s significant in terms of representation.”
Wallace, who made history in 2021, expressed his excitement on X, commenting, “What an incredible win for the young bro! It’s a monumental moment for our sport! Saying I’m proud doesn’t do it justice! LFG!!!!!”
Following three races in the Truck season, Caruth currently holds the fourth position in the drivers’ standings.
According to Fox Sports, the 21-year-old driver from Spire Motorsports, also a senior at Winston-Salem State University, had only managed one top-five finish in his first 29 career starts in the series. In NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, he had no top-10 finishes in his 19 starts in the “minor” league. However, his recent performances have shown steady improvement, with a pole position win in his latest race night and leading 38 laps, including the final 21 of the 134-lap competition.
