LAS VEGAS – Following his first victory in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Rajah Caruth thanked Rick Hendrick for his support. Caruth drove the No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado to a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday night for Spire Motorsports.
"It's surreal. Thanks so much to HendrickCars.com and Mr. H for putting me in this thing all year," Caruth told FS1's Josh Sims after the race. "Glad to get the win for Team Chevy. I can't thank my family enough. So many people have helped me get to this point. I can't believe it."
The win came in his 30th start in the Truck Series and his third race with HendrickCars.com on the truck. He joins Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace as the only Black drivers to win a NASCAR national series race. Caruth started the event from his first pole position in the Truck Series and led 38 laps, including the final 21 circuits, to win the race. The 21-year-old driver and senior at Winston Salem State University (set to graduate this fall) is off to a strong start in the 2024 season with a win, two top-five finishes and three top-10s. Leaving Las Vegas, the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program alum sits fourth in the points standings and the win positions him as one of 10 drivers to make the Truck Series playoffs.
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Caruth's pit crew came through with a strong pit stop under green in the final stage that helped propel him to the lead for good on lap 114. That pit crew is comprised of five athletes from Hendrick Motorsports: Daniel Bach (front changer), Cody French (jackman), Jarius Morehead (tire carrier), Mike Moss (rear-tire changer) and Anthony Pasut (fueler). French, Morehead and Moss were part of the Garage 56 pit crew, which won the GTE class portion of the Pit Stop Challenge at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June.
Earlier this week, it was announced that HendrickCars.com was extending its primary partnership with Caruth from 10 races to the entire season of 23 races. Last season, Caruth drove the No. 17 HendrickCars.com NASCAR Xfinity Series Chevrolet Camaro at Phoenix Raceway in November to a 14th-place finish for Hendrick Motorsports.
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"Building that relationship with Mr. H, Miss Linda (Hendrick) and not only the Hendrick family and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports but also the Hendrick Automotive Group has been pretty special," Caruth said.