Rajah Caruth

Rajah Kirby Caruth (born June 11, 2002) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro SS for JR Motorsports and the No. 32 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Jordan Anderson Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports.

Racing career Early career Caruth first got his love for racing after watching Disney Pixar's Cars as a kid. When he was twelve, his parents surprised him with a trip to the 2014 Federated Auto Parts 400 in September. In 2018, while juggling from school, basketball, track, and a summer job, Caruth and his family fundraised an iRacing sim, and once he turned sixteen on June 11, he began racing virtually in the eNASCAR Ignite Series. Rajah was able to catch the attention of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program, which resulted in him having a shot to race in a legends car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2019 for the Bojangles' Southern Shootout. Rajah ended his rookie season getting two top-tens, and ending up thirteenth in the Semi-pro points.

Late models In 2020, Caruth moved up to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, where he won his first career late model race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and ended the rest of the season with three top-fives and nine top tens in a total of nineteen late model starts. In 2021, Caruth returned to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, and got his second and third late model win after winning both Hickory 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.

ARCA On February 3, 2021, Caruth announced that he would run full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East for Rev Racing, and will compete for Rookie of the Year honors. Caruth finished the season with two top-fives, three top-tens, and three top-fifteens, ending up third in the standings. He made a one-off start in the 2022 General Tire 125, starting fifth and finishing fourth. He ran three more races that season, which were all combination races with the main series.

On July 23, 2021, Rev Racing announced on Twitter that Caruth and teammate Nick Sanchez would drive in the 2021 Shore Lunch 150 at Iowa Speedway, which was Caruth's first ARCA Menards Series start. Caruth started twelfth and finished ninth.

Caruth made his ARCA Menards Series West start in the 2021 Arizona Lottery 100, where he started and finished the race in eighth. He made his second start in the 2022 General Tire 150, driving in the paired event with the main series. He started seventh and finished fourth.

On August 30, 2021, Caruth announced that he would drive full-time in the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season with Rev Racing. He earned his best career finish at the 2022 Dutch Boy 150, finishing second. After earning eight top-fives and fourteen top-tens throughout the season, he finished third in the final standings.

NASCAR 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 for Spire Motorsports. In his first start, Caruth initially finished in tenth, after the caution came out on the final lap. He was later scored in the eleventh spot. At Richmond, Caruth started 28th and finished 25th, four laps down. At Bristol, Caruth was involved in an accident with Josh Reaume on lap 34, eventually retiring from the race ten laps later.

2023 On December 1, 2022, TobyChristie.com reported that Caruth would drive full-time in the Truck Series in 2023, driving the No. 24 truck for GMS Racing. It was also reported that The Wendell Scott Foundation will sponsor Caruth for part of his 2023 season. On December 6, it was officially confirmed that Caruth would drive for GMS Racing in 2023. After a rough start to the season with three DNF's, Caruth earned his best career finish of sixth at Darlington Raceway in May. 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 fourteenth. He finished the season sixteenth in points, and fourth in Rookie of the Year standings. Caruth's race winning truck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024.

2024 On February 7, 2024, it was announced that Caruth would drive for Spire Motorsports full-time in the 2024 season, driving the No. 71 truck. On the final lap of the season-opener at Daytona, Caruth drifted up the racetrack at the exit of turn two, spinning out Jack Wood and collecting numerous trucks. Despite this, Caruth managed to earn a career-best finish of third. The following week, he earned an eighth place finish at Atlanta. 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 ten races. At Las Vegas, Caruth scored his first career win, becoming only the third African-American driver to win in one of NASCAR's three national series, joining Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace. 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.

2025 On December 13, 2024, it was announced that Caruth would return to the team in 2025. Caruth began the 2025 season with a 30th place DNF at Daytona. He would earn his first win of the season at Nashville. He advanced into the playoffs for a second year and was eliminated at the conclusion of the Round of 8 at Martinsville.

O'Reilly Auto Parts Series 2022 On August 30, 2021, along with the ARCA announcement, Tommy Joe Martins and Caesar Bacarella announced the formation of Alpha Prime Racing, which would 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 in the 44. He started 22nd and finish 24th. He made his second start in the 2022 A-GAME 200, where he qualified an impressive fifteenth. Suspension issues ended Caruth's race on lap 58, and he finished in last place. At the Pocono race, Caruth was involved in a vicious wreck with Alex Labbé on the first lap, resulting in another last-place finish. At Kansas, Caruth switched to the No. 45 car, sponsored by iRacing. He finished 25th after the race ended after stage 2 due to inclement weather. He earned his first top-twenty finish at Las Vegas, after finishing twentieth in the race. At Martinsville, Caruth dodged numerous wrecks and finished twelfth, earning his best career finish in the Xfinity Series. After the race, he had an altercation with Jeb Burton. left

2023 On January 27, 2023, Caruth announced that he would return to Alpha Prime Racing for the 2023 season, running another partial schedule. He earned his best finish of twelfth at Martinsville, surviving a crash-filled race. On September 26, it was announced that Caruth would drive the No. 17 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. 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 by John Hunter Nemechek on the final lap, ultimately finishing fourteenth.

2025 On July 14, 2025, Jordan Anderson Racing announced that Caruth would compete for the team at Dover in their No. 32 car. He finished 22nd in the race after starting sixteenth. He returned to the team for Daytona, finishing 29th after starting fifteenth. On September 18, it was announced that Caruth will return to Hendrick Motorsports in their No. 17 car for the race at Kansas, where he finished eighteenth.

2026 On October 21, 2025, it was announced that Caruth will run part-time for JR Motorsports in the 2026 season, driving their No. 88 car. During a Twitch livestream on October 22, Caruth announced he will return to Jordan Anderson Racing as their main driver in the No. 32 car and will run the full season between both teams. In January 2026, it was confirmed that Caruth will compete full-time in the O'Reilly Series on a split schedule between JRM and JAR; 23 races in JRM's No. 88 Chevrolet and 10 races in JAR's No. 32 Chevrolet.

Personal life Caruth was born in Atlanta, Georgia to a Vincentian father and a Vincentian-Barbadian mother, but was raised in Brooklyn, New York, and Washington, D.C.

In June 2020, Caruth was the subject of a NASCAR documentary, "Through the Fences," which aired on Tempo Networks. It talks about Caruth's racing career and how he was accepted into the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program. He was also featured in an episode of "The Family Business" on BET+ in July.

Caruth graduated from the School Without Walls High School in 2020. School Without Walls High School is a magnet school known for its humanities programs.

On December 27, 2022, it was announced that Caruth would join Richard Petty on NASCAR's float in the 2023 Rose Parade. He is good friends with fellow driver Bubba Wallace, who serves as his mentor during the races.

In 2023, Caruth was the subject of another documentary, Outside Line, which premiered on November 9th during the Doc NYC Festival. Caruth is currently in a relationship with actress and producer, Marsai Martin.

In 2024, he graduated from Winston-Salem State University with a Bachelor of Science in Motorsports Management.

Motorsports career results

Stock car career summary 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 2025 NASCAR Truck Series Spire Motorsports 25 1 5 13 2237 6th NASCAR Xfinity Series Jordan Anderson RacingHendrick Motorsports 3 0 0 0 0 NC† † As Caruth was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

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

O'Reilly Auto Parts Series NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts 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 Pts Ref 2022 Alpha Prime Racing 44 Chevy DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH24 MAR TAL DOV38 DAR TEX CLT PIR NSH ROA ATL NHA POC38 IRC MCH GLN DAY DAR LVS20 HOM MAR12 PHO17 92nd 01 45 KAN25 BRI TEX TAL ROV 2023 DAY CAL21 LVS26 PHO ATL COA RCH MAR TAL DOV26 DAR DAR16 KAN29 LVS23 HOM 90th 01 44 CLT25 PIR SON NSH CSC ATL NHA37 POC ROA MCH IRC GLN DAY BRI17 TEX ROV19 MAR12 Hendrick Motorsports 17 Chevy PHO14 2025 Jordan Anderson Racing 32 Chevy DAY ATL COA PHO LVS HOM MAR DAR BRI CAR TAL TEX CLT NSH MXC POC ATL CSC SON DOV22 IND IOW GLN DAY29 PIR GTW BRI 92nd 01 Hendrick Motorsports 17 Chevy KAN18 ROV LVS TAL MAR PHO 2026 JR Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY10 ATL8 COA31 MAR25 CAR4 TAL30 GLN12 DOV14 CLT10 COR22 SON14 ATL9 IOW2 DAY32 DAR GTW BRI LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -* Jordan Anderson Racing 32 Chevy PHO8 LVS19 DAR23 BRI14 KAN21 TEX34 NSH19 POC7 CHI24 IND22

Craftsman Truck Series 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 Pts Ref 2022 Spire Motorsports 7 Chevy DAY LVS ATL COA MAR BRD DAR KAN TEX CLT GTW11 SON KNX NSH MOH POC IRP RCH25 KAN BRI34 TAL HOM PHO32 43rd 46 2023 GMS Racing 24 Chevy DAY29 LVS29 ATL25 COA13 TEX19 BRD11 MAR25 KAN34 DAR6 NWS34 CLT11 GTW15 NSH32 MOH29 POC16 RCH19 IRP7 MLW14 KAN12 BRI6 TAL12 HOM8 PHO12 16th 482 2024 Spire Motorsports 71 Chevy DAY3 ATL8 LVS1 BRI8 COA15 MAR7 TEX12 KAN13 DAR30 NWS14 CLT16 GTW16 NSH4 POC10 IRP8 RCH17 MLW18 BRI3 KAN7 TAL4 HOM8 MAR31 PHO13 7th 2213 2025 DAY30 ATL29 LVS7 HOM22 MAR8 BRI9 CAR4 TEX3 KAN21 NWS15 CLT9 NSH1* MCH31 POC10 LRP21 IRP10 GLN32 RCH19 DAR12 BRI15 NHA10 ROV4 TAL9 MAR34 PHO5 6th 2237 2026 7 DAY ATL STP DAR CAR BRI TEX GLN DOV CLT NSH2 MCH COR LRP NWS IRP RCH NHA BRI KAN CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

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 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 Pts Ref 2021 Rev Racing 6 Chevy DAY PHO TAL KAN TOL CLT MOH POC ELK BLN IOW9 WIN GLN MCH ISF MLW13 DSF BRI6 SLM3 KAN9 23rd 180 2022 DAY11 TAL6 KAN2 CLT3 IOW12 BLN5 ELK7 MOH9 POC4 IRP8 MCH6 GLN11 ISF6 MLW4 DSF17 KAN12 BRI4 SLM15 TOL5 3rd 932 61 PHO4

ARCA Menards Series East ARCA Menards Series East results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pts Ref 2021 Rev Racing 6 Chevy NSM11 FIF4 NSV6 DOV14 SNM3 IOW9 MLW13 BRI6 3rd 386 2022 NSM FIF DOV4 NSV IOW12 MLW4 BRI4 8th 202

ARCA Menards Series West ARCA Menards Series West results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts Ref 2021 Rev Racing 66 Chevy PHO SON IRW CNS IRW PIR LVS AAS PHO8 47th 36 2022 61 PHO4 IRW KCR PIR SON IRW EVG PIR AAS LVS PHO 49th 40

CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour (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 16 17 Pts Ref 2022 Carroll Speedshop 8RC Chevy CRW HCY GRE AAS FCS LGY DOM HCYDNQ ACE MMS NWS TCM ACE SBO CRW 80th 2 2024 R&S Race Cars 71 Chevy SNM HCY AAS OCS ACE TCM LGY DOM CRW HCY NWS ACE WCS FLC20 SBO TCM NWS N/A 0