Now that it’s officially summer according to the calendar, auto racing is hitting its most crucial time of the year. The grueling gauntlet of hot weekends and even hotter competition is now upon us and Rajah Caruth is navigating it all.
After a seventh place finish on Saturday night at Elko Speedway in Minnesota, Caruth remains the ARCA Racing points leader by the slimmest of margins. He came into the night with a one point lead in the standings and that’s exactly where things stand heading into next weekend.
Sammy Smith wheeled his way to victory for the second weekend in a row in just his fourth start of the season. While Smith is the latest threat to take the checkered flag on any given weekend, not running the full schedule has him 183 points behind Caruth.
Caruth’s Chevrolet was a top-five challenger on Saturday night but wasn’t a real threat to win. He was holding on to the final spot on the lead lap late in the race before ultimately finishing two laps down as the first car off the lead lap. Toyota’s have dominated the short track at Elko as of late, winning three in a row and four of the last five races there. Toyota swept the top three spots on Saturday with Jesse Love and Landon Pembelton finishing second and third.
[sc name=”dynamic-article-slide” ][/sc]Consistency of Rajah Caruth
After eight races Caruth has an average finish of 6.3, which is highest among the eight drivers who have run the entire season. Although he hasn’t won a race yet, he has been the model of consistency, completing more laps than anyone else at 1,098 this season. His teammate at Rev Racing Nick Sanchez remains one point behind him in the standings. Sanchez is tied with Smith for the most wins this season at two.
The ARCA series is off this upcoming weekend before resuming on July 8 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Dawn 150 race. The following race will be a double duty weekend at Pocono on July 22. Caruth will drive in the ARCA race on Friday night and make his third Xfinity series start that Saturday.
With a select few races still to come in the Camping World Truck Series as well, it’s shaping up to be a summer to remember for Rajah Caruth.