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No. 71 NASCAR Chevy Scores First Truck Series Win At Vegas 2024: Video

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.

NASCAR Truck Series Race Results, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 1, 2024
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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Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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  1. Ray Charles could win in that Hendricks Chevrolet truck. It will back up faster than the fords and toyos

    Reply

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