6 hours Ago
Rajah Caruth is coming back to Spire Motorsports for the upcoming NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. The 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series "Most Popular Driver" award winner also walked the commencement stage on Friday morning to receive his Bachelor of Science in Motorsports Management degree from Winston-Salem State University. It was a busy morning for Caruth as he focused on his future in NASCAR.
"It is great to have a home and stability heading into next year," said Caruth in a press release sent to Newsweek.com. "I believe this is the first time in my career I won't be with a new team or competing in a different series at the start of the season.
"I really appreciate the opportunity Jeff (Dickerson) and T.J. (Puchyr) have given me, and I'm excited to continue preparations for 2025.
Our organization has really grown over the past year, and we have shown what we are capable of. We have set the bar high for the season and the expectation is to win more races and compete for a championship." Last season, Caruth earned his first career Craftsman Truck Series pole position and victory in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
He became the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR National Touring Series race. In 2024 he also had five Top 5 finishes and 12 Top 10 finishes. Caruth had a 10.
7 average starting position in 2024, nearly five positions better than in 2023, and an average finish of 11.6, which was an improvement of 6.6 positions from the previous season.
"I'm thrilled to confirm that Rajah Caruth will be back with us in 2025 driving the No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado," said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson.
"He took the incredibly high expectations we placed on him to start the year and exceeded them in every way. I'm impressed with how he's balanced his commitments to his race team, his craft, the media and his growing fanbase while managing a full workload at Winston-Salem State University. Our organization believes in Raj and he has consistently shown the leadership, form and work ethic that every team looks for in a driver.
Everyone at Spire Motorsports is really happy to run it back with him next season." During the 2022-23 seasons, Caruth raced part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and achieved his career/series best 12th place finish in October 2023 at Martinsville Speedway. In 2021 he received the Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award for on-track performance, sportsmanship and community service.
HendrickCars.com will continue to serve as Caruth's primary sponsor. The organization and crew chief for Caruth will be announced at a later date.
"It is very special to have Hendrick Automotive Group and HendrickCars.com support me and my racing career," added Caruth. "When I got the opportunity to drive their Xfinity car at Phoenix in 2023, it felt like an audition for 2024.
I didn't have any plans at that point..
