Rajah Caruth mentions 7x NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson in fun fan Q&A session

Truck Series driver Rajah Caruth named Jimmie Johnson as his favorite driver while growing up. The 22-year-old NASCAR racer shared an Instagram story about the seven-time Cup Series champion being his idol in a fun fan Q&A session.

After starting his racing career with late models, Caruth progressed to the ARCA Menards Series in 2021. Along with ARCA, the Atlanta-born racer began driving part-time in the Truck and Xfinity Series in the 2022 season. Witnessing his performance, Caruth was offered a full-time contract by Spire Motorsports for the 2024 Truck Series season.

Making the most of the opportunity, the #71 driver won his first NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Victoria's Voice Foundation 200) in March this year. This made Caruth the third black driver to win a national series race after Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace.

With the 2024 Truck Series season ending on November 8 at Phoenix Raceway, Caruth has kicked off the NASCAR offseason by interacting with fans on social media. On his Instagram story, he answered a popular fan question regarding his favorite driver from his childhood days.

Caruth posted a picture of himself as a kid and named Jimmie Johnson. Here's a look at a snapshot of Caruth's IG Story:

Rajah Caruth's childhood picture with the fan question and his answer (source: @rajahcaruth_ in Instagram)

As of now, Caruth has no plans to move full-time to either the Xfinity or Cup Series for the 2025 season. He plans to spend another full season in the Truck Series to refine his racecraft before jumping into the bigger leagues.

---

"I feel proud to have played a small part in this" - Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace on being a mentor to upcoming racer Rajah Caruth

Upcoming Truck Series driver Rajah Caruth is currently the youngest Black driver in NASCAR. Being a part of diverse representation at the national level himself, Bubba Wallace is playing the role of a mentor for the Atlanta-born rising racer.

Wallace, the 23XI Racing driver shared his approach to tuning Caruth's mindset and competitive spirit during an interview with the Chicago Tribune.

"I’ve been hard on him since Day 1. I will never forget the first time watching him in a Legends car at Charlotte and I got in his face, 'What are you so afraid of the wall for? You haven’t even hit.' I feel proud to have played a small part in this. And I called him, and he was pumped. But, like, his burnout was lame and his phone call was lame. I was like, 'Come on man, I’m more pumped than you are'," Wallace said.

As for the 2024 season, Caruth has finished seventh in the driver's championship in the Truck Series with five Top-5s, 12 Top-10 finishes, two pole positions, and one race win (Victoria's Voice Foundation 200 race at Las Vegas).