Rajah Caruth to race for Spire full-time in 2024
Spire Motorsports on Wednesday announced Rajah Caruth will race full-time for them during the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
Spire will field the No. 71 Chevrolet Silverado for Caruth. HendrickCars.com will sponsor him in 10 races, including the February 17 season opener at Daytona.
“We’ve talked about seminal moments for Spire Motorsports in the past, and I think this is another one of those moments,” said Jeff Dickerson, the co-owner of Spire Motorsports. “Rajah Caruth is an exceptional young man. He’s a very talented driver with a bright future. He’s obviously young in his career but he’s mature beyond his years. You hear people talk about an ‘it’ factor and when you talk to him and get to know him, it’s pretty obvious he has ‘it.’”
Caruth raced for Hendrick Motorsports at Phoenix in November. He finished 14th.
Chad Walter will serve as crew chief for Caruth. Last year, Caruth earned four top-10 finishes in the Truck Series with Walter as his crew chief at GMS Racing.
“We’re exceptionally fortunate to be able to bring Rajah into the mix and pair him with Chad Walter. Those guys worked together last season so to be able to keep them together should go a long way in terms of chemistry and being competitive. This is just a good situation for everyone,” Dickerson said.
Walter has overseen five NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, winning once with Kyle Busch, Ron Fellows, Mark Martin, Justin Allgaier and Sam Hornish Jr. each.
Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t announced yet if Caruth will do any more Xfinity Series starts with them. However, he has drawn praise from team executives.
“The first time I ever met Rajah, he and his dad were at Phoenix in the garage. Just meeting him for the first time, it was like, ‘Wow, this kid seems very professional and very driven, well-spoken. I look forward to watching his career,’ said Jeff Gordon, the Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com