Rick Hendrick-backed driver Rajah Caruth pumped with $300M-worth Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari sprint pole

NASCAR Truck Series driver Rajah Caruth dropped a reaction to Lewis Hamilton securing his first sprint pole with Ferrari at Shanghai. Caruth referred to the seven-time F1 champion as the "GOAT" after the 40-year-old Ferrari driver topped the charts and set a new lap record at the circuit.

As NASCAR heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the weekend, Formula 1 headed to the Shangai International Circuit for the second round of the season. In just his second start for the historic Italian team, Hamilton secured the sprint pole position, outperforming the McLaren drivers and his longtime rival Max Verstappen.

Rajah Caruth, who is backed by Rick Hendrick in the Truck Series, reacted to Lewis Hamilton's blistering pace in Shanghai. Caruth referred to the seven-time champion as the "GOAT" and expressed his excitement at seeing Hamilton back in pole position after a challenging end to his tenure with Mercedes. Caruth wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after the qualifying session:

"🐐 on pole. Let’s go #HAM"

Hamilton, worth $300 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth), will start in pole position for the Sprint Race on Saturday (Mar. 22), lining up alongside Max Verstappen, with Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc behind them. The Sprint race is followed by the qualifying session for the main race. The Chinese Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday (Mar. 23) at 3 AM ET.

Meanwhile, all three NASCAR National Series will be in action at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend. Rajah Caruth will hit the track in his #71 Spire Motorsports Truck during the practice and qualifying session on Friday (Mar. 21) at 3:35 PM ET on FS2.

The Baptist Health 200 Truck race will be broadcast on FOX later on Friday at 8:00 PM ET.

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Rajah Caruth reflects on his maiden victory at Las Vegas

Rajah Caruth (Source: Getty)

Rajah Caruth had a flying start to his 2024 season with Spire Motorsports, winning his maiden Truck race at Las Vegas in the third round. He became the third Black driver to win a NASCAR National Series event, making waves across the country.

One year after his breakthrough victory, Caruth reflected on the memorable weekend but added he moved on too quickly to the next race and his obligations. Looking back, he regrets not taking more time to celebrate the win and the significance of his milestone win.

"I think I was too focused on kind of dismissing it and going to the next race, the next obligation, that I lost a lot of presence in how big of a milestone that was. And I think if I had the chance to do it again, I would've definitely cherished that win a little bit more." he told CBS Sports.

The #71 Spire Motorsports driver is determined to clinch his second victory and plans to cherish the post-race celebrations. He added:

"Hopefully the next time we win, I'll have that opportunity to just celebrate it more. … I think my interviews next time around will be a little different just because of cherishing and celebrating that a little bit more versus being as kind of dismissive and not trying to minimize the accomplishment."

The 22-year-old has had a rocky start to his 2025 season, but took a seventh-place finish at Las Vegas. He was classified eighth in his previous two starts at Homestead Miami Speedway.