Rajah Caruth just got his driver’s license in June, so he’s still mastering parallel parking. But see him on the racetrack, and it’s a done deal.
The 18-year-old is in his second year of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program. He might be a youngin in the game, but he’s competing weekly, and his passion and depth of knowledge in motorsports is unmatched.
A D.C. native with Caribbean roots, Rajah’s grabbing wisdom and work ethic we could all use.
“I hope to be a Cup champion one day, and I want to work until that becomes a reality,” Caruth told The Block.
Going around the track at 150 mph—Caruth’s certain his mom worries. But, that’s what mommas do. Rather than focus on what could go wrong, he keeps his eyes on the end goal.
Roger Caruth recalls his son’s fascination with Lightning McQueen and “all things mobile” as a child.
“As his interest grew, he would take cars that my wife and I bought and use Wite-Out to ‘customize’ the cars and create tracks on cardboard boxes,” Roger Caruth said.
From there, the younger Caruth started making stop motion animations to reenact races he watched. A book on the history of NASCAR became his go-to.
“He took that book and gobbled it up.”
It got to the point where every time the family traveled, they had to find a go-kart track. As he got older, weekend activities were scheduled around televised races.
Rajah immersed himself in the craft he was growing to love.
“Not only did I have the passion, but I had to do the research and just learn,” Rajah Caruth said.
Fast forward to today, and he has gone from virtual races to competing in real life with his RevRacing team. He recently landed a full-time sponsorship from Sunoco (the official fuel of NASCAR).
“I’ve realized in this sport you not only have to think long term, but you have to make sure you’re hitting your strides, not overlooking stuff and doing what you need to do every race, every practice.”
“You just gotta put in the work.”
Rajah Caruth
That work includes college. For Caruth, it had to be an HBCU. He’s now a freshman at Winston Salem State University majoring in motorsports management. He splits his time between campus, his team’s shop and races.
Bowman Gray Stadium—the home of WSSU football—is NASCAR’s first and longest running weekly track.
Training up minorities and women for the world of motorsports is something the school prides itself on. WSSU is the only HBCU, and the only four-year public university in the nation to offer a degree in motorsports management.
Less than 10 percent of NASCAR’s fan base is Black. And Bubba Wallace, one of Rajah’s role models, is the only Black driver in NASCAR’s top racing series.
This past week, the organization named its FIRST Black track president, former XFL team president Erik Moses.
Despite navigating a space where there aren’t many who look like him, Caruth says his experience has been mostly positive.
“Of course, you’ll have your bad apples, but the people in this sport are good people,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what color skin you are—we all like racing, so let’s go race.”
Caruth admits, “It’s difficult starting out, especially if you don’t have the history of experience in the racing industry.”
He didn’t have the connections or resources, but he got it done.
Roger Caruth used to be the sports information director at Clark Atlanta University, and now teaches communications at Howard University. The standard he holds his son to, is one that transcends motorsports to reflect what it really means to do good business.
“You have to maximize those opportunities, position yourself, stand out and create a presence where people value what you bring to the table,” Roger Caruth explained.
Rajah seems to get it.
“Once you get your foot in the door, you can make some headway, whether it’s through SIM racing like I did [or] going to local races. Start to approach teams, putting a name with a face, getting business cards —you know, networking.”
Similar to other sports—age isn’t a deciding factor. Mike Tyson was 18 when he entered the ring. At the time of his debut in ‘96, Kobe Bryant became the youngest to ever play in an NBA game. Wimbledon’s youngest qualifier Coco Gauff, was 15 when she beat Venus Williams.
The list goes on, and Rajah is no different.
“As long as you’re able to be in the mix, you always have an opportunity”
Roger Caruth
As for his son wanting to be a champ one day: “I think it’s great, and I think it’s doable. He’s come along at the right time.”
Keep up with Rajah’s career at rajahcaruth.com and @rajahcaruth_ on Instagram. You can also lean more about NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.
