Rajah Caruth made history at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, March 1st, 2024, becoming the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race. His No. 71 NASCAR Chevy Silverado RST was blisteringly fast all night, starting from the pole position and winning thanks to a successful pit strategy executed by his crew chief.
Caruth’s crew chief, Chad Walter, called the No. 71 Silverado into the pits early in the final pit stop cycle of the night. The pit crew got to work, turning Caruth back out on track to inherit the lead when the rest of the field made their respective stops. He managed to keep the No. 18 Silverado of Tyler Ankrum at bay, flashing across the line 0.851 seconds ahead of his most serious challenger.
“It’s surreal,” said Caruth after the race. “Thanks so much to HendrickCars.com and Mr. H [Rick Hendrick] for putting me in this thing all year, and with the men and women at Spire [Motorsports]. So many people have helped me get to this point, and I can’t believe it. I just stayed cool. We lost track position in little portions of the race, and we stayed in the game… My guys got me a great stop, and we just executed.”
Caruth’s win marks the second straight for NASCAR Chevy Truck Series teams at Las Vegas after The Bow Tie broke a seven-race Toyota winning streak. Caruth’s victory was also the 11th win from the pole position in 32 Truck races at Las Vegas.
Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 71 | Rajah Caruth | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 134 | 38 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
2 | 5 | 18 | Tyler Ankrum | LiUNA! Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
3 | 25 | 11 | Corey Heim | Safelite Toyota | 134 | 18 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
4 | 19 | 17 | Taylor Gray | Mobil 1 Toyota | 134 | 4 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
5 | 14 | 1 | Christopher Bell(i) | Mobil 1 Toyota | 134 | 2 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
6 | 2 | 19 | Christian Eckes | NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet | 134 | 7 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
7 | 15 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Black Label Bacon/Menards Ford | 134 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
8 | 7 | 91 | Zane Smith(i) | Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
9 | 10 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
10 | 6 | 98 | Ty Majeski | Curb Records 60 Years Ford | 134 | 40 | Ford F-150 |
11 | 12 | 13 | Jake Garcia | Quanta Services Ford | 134 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
12 | 20 | 32 | Bret Holmes | Precision Garage Door Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
13 | 13 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | Kubota Ford | 134 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
14 | 26 | 66 | Conner Jones # | Cincinnati Ford | 133 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
15 | 4 | 7 | Kyle Busch(i) | Group 1001 Chevrolet | 133 | 13 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
16 | 11 | 77 | Chase Purdy | Bama Buggies Chevrolet | 133 | 1 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
17 | 8 | 2 | Nick Sanchez | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 133 | 5 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
18 | 3 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar International Toyota | 133 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
19 | 18 | 45 | Connor Mosack | Chevy Accessories Chevrolet | 133 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
20 | 24 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Dead On Tools Toyota | 133 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
21 | 29 | 02 | Mason Massey | Anderson Power Services Chevrolet | 133 | 6 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
22 | 21 | 38 | Layne Riggs # | Love's RV Stops Ford | 133 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
23 | 28 | 33 | Lawless Alan | AUTOChargit Mobile Ford | 133 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
24 | 9 | 43 | Daniel Dye | NAPA Nightvision Chevrolet | 132 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
25 | 30 | 46 | Thad Moffitt # | South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet | 132 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
26 | 16 | 25 | Ty Dillon | Rackley Roofing Chevrolet | 132 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
27 | 31 | 22 | Keith McGee | More Core Ford | 131 | 0 | Ford F-150 |
28 | 17 | 41 | Bayley Currey | Niece Chevrolet | 129 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
29 | 32 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | Nor-Cal Equipment Rentals Chevrolet | 128 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
30 | 23 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Thompson Pipe Group Toyota | 125 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
31 | 22 | 42 | Matt Mills | J.F. Electric/Utilitra Chevrolet | 125 | 0 | Chevrolet Silverado RST |
32 | 27 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Coble Enterprises/UNITS Toyota | 75 | 0 | Toyota TRD Tundra |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comment
Ray Charles could win in that Hendricks Chevrolet truck. It will back up faster than the fords and toyos