Rajah Caruth (24) had a memorable Friday night at Darlington Raceway. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Rajah Caruth took the green flag from the 13th starting position at Darlington, South Carolina for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at “The Lady in Black” on Friday night.
The 20-year-old Atlanta, Georgia native did not finish inside the top 10 in either of the first two stages. However, Caruth found speed throughout Stage 3, battling with NASCAR Cup Series regular William Byron for track position inside the final 10 laps of the race.
In an unfortunate turn of events for Caruth, an Overtime caution caused by Nick Sanchez and Grant Enfinger dropped relegated the driver of the No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado to a sixth place finish.
The GMS driver was understandably excited after the race about his career best finish of sixth.
“It’s great to run up there towards the end,” Caruth said. “I tried to stay under it and learn the race track throughout tonight and got going when it mattered, and it almost paid off. Like I said, I really wish it went green to the end, but things happen.”
The top six finish must have felt incredibly rewarding for the young driver, especially considering he is coming off of a bit of a rough patch with a 34th finish in Kansas after an accident, a 25th place finish at the beloved Martinsville Speedway along with a very respectable 11th place finish at the Bristol Dirt race.
After a roller coaster start to the year, Caruth finds himself ranked 17th in points but trending in the right direction. Namely, Caruth made a power move inside the final 10 laps to work his way inside the top five.
Likewise, the rookie racer was clicking off fast laps, potentially in position to take second from Byron. As he mentioned in his post race interview, Caruth is taking in all of his surroundings at every track the series visits and learning an incredible amount weekly.
Certainly, Caruth is one to keep your eyes on as a fan of NASCAR in any capacity as he finds his stride behind the wheel in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
In a week, Caruth will get behind the wheel of his No. 24 GMS truck on Saturday, May 19 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina for the Tyson 250.
