Rajah Caruth continues to get better each week in his first full time season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. On Saturday night in Bristol, Tennessee Caruth missed out on a top ten finish in the final lap settling for an 11th place finish. Saturday night’s finish was the top career finish of his young career in the truck series. The spring race at Bristol is run on dirt each year, which has become a fan favorite the past few seasons.
Earlier in the day Caruth finished second in his heat race which was a sign of good things to come. The Winston-Salem State student rolled off the starting grid with former Cup Champion Kyle Larson as his spotter. Caruth considers Larson the greatest dirt racer of all time. Larson will start from the pole on Sunday in the Cup Race at Bristol.
Things almost went off the rails early for Caruth after he suffered a flat front tire. But quick work by his pit crew kept the No. 24 in contention.
In the final stage of a caution filled race Caruth missed every melee in front of him while advancing his position. He ran as high as eighth place in the closing laps before finishing 11th in the final dash to the checkered flag. Joey Logano won the race while moonlighting from his normal Sunday duties.
The season has mostly been on the uptick for Caruth the last few weeks. After starting the year with three straight finishes outside of the top twenty, Caruth has his Chevy pointed in the right direction. He’s finished 13th, 19th and 11th in the last three races.
The next race in the truck series for Caruth will be on April 14th at Martinsville Speedway.