Caruth 3rd Black NASCAR driver to win series race

Rajah Caruth made a promise after taking the checkered flag in the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“There’s more to come, for sure,” the 21-year-old Spire Motorsports driver said moments after securing his first NASCAR Truck Series win from pole position Friday night.

An alumnus of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, Caruth is the third Black driver to win a NASCAR national series race, joining Hall of Famer Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace.

Wallace took to social media to congratulate Caruth, calling it a “a monumental win for our sport!”

What a massive win for the little bro!

What a monumental win for our sport!

Proud is an understatement!

LFG!!!!!!! @rajahcaruth_

— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) March 2, 2024

It was a day for firsts for Caruth, who earlier Friday won the initial Truck Series pole of his career by 0.001 seconds over Christian Eckes. It was Caruth’s pit crew that helped decide the issue.

During a 62-lap green-flag run to the finish, crew chief Chad Walter called Caruth’s No. 71 Chevrolet to pit road early in the cycle. The over-the-wall crew performed a flawless stop, and after other contenders made their stops during the cycle, Caruth inherited the lead on Lap 114 with an advantage over Taylor Gray of nearly two seconds.

That margin enabled Caruth, who led 38 laps, to finish 0.851 seconds in front of fast-closing Tyler Ankrum, who passed Gray for second on Lap 120.

“It’s surreal,” Caruth said. “Thanks so much to [sponsor] HendrickCars.com and Mr. H [Hendrick] for putting me in this thing all year, and with the men and women at Spire.

“So many people have helped me get to this point, and I can’t believe it. I just stayed cool. We lost track position in little portions of the race, and we stayed in the game. … My guys got me a great stop, and we just executed.”

A lack of execution ruined the chances of several contenders. Ty Majeski, who led a race-high 40 of the 134 laps and swept the first two stages, drew a penalty for speeding on pit road on Lap 102. So did Daytona winner Nick Sanchez, snuffing out a late rally. Defending race winner Kyle Busch’s crew was guilty of a tire violation, preventing Caruth’s Spire teammate from contending for the victory.

But with Busch winning last week at Atlanta, Spire now has two straight victories.

In the closing laps, Ankrum could see Caruth tantalizingly in front of him, just out of reach.

“I wish we would have had 10 more laps, and I think we could have gotten it,” said Ankrum, who retained his series lead by five points over second-place Majeski. “But we tend to say that a lot in racing. I wish we would have been able to do it, but I think our time is coming.”

Corey Heim finished third and is seven points behind Ankum in the standings. Caruth climbed one spot from fifth to fourth, 10 points out of the series lead. Gray ran fourth on Friday, followed by Christopher Bell. Eckes, Matt Crafton, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger and Majeski completed the top 10. Busch finished 15th, one lap down.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.