“I’m a product of Lightning McQueen,” said Rajah Caruth on the Stacking Pennies podcast in 2024. Before Caruth started competing in some of NASCAR’s biggest events, he was glued to the screen with a simulator steering wheel in both hands and a heart immersed in one dream. No family history in racing. No karting trophies stacked in his garage. Just a movie on loop, a laptop, and the impossible question, “what if?” That question would one day take him from virtual tracks to actual podiums, and, in doing so, revive a spotlight on one of NASCAR’s most essential but often forgotten programs: the Drive for Diversity Youth Development Initiative. 

As Bubba Wallace’s mentee engraves his name into the Truck Series, he rejuvenates a discussion beyond talent or timing: access. For years, NASCAR youth programs have provided rare on-ramps for several kids from underrepresented racing backgrounds to take those steps into stardom, which can transpire into a full-blown professional opportunity. They have affiliated names like Kyle Larson, Daniel Suárez, and Bubba Wallace, but Rajah Caruth’s path may be the most unusual, and that makes it even better.

From pixel to pavement – Rajah Caruth’s journey 

“Some drivers are born into racing, some grow up on dirt. Some start in go-karts,” a NASCAR narrator said in a recent post on Instagram honoring Caruth. “For Rajah Caruth, he started with a movie, a sim, and a dream.” The Pixar movie, “Cars,” played a pivotal role in Caruth’s love for racing. Watching Lightning McQueen win Piston Cup after Piston Cup inspired the child and awoke the budding driver inside of him. 

While many others were launched at local tracks or dirt tracks, Caruth did his first competitive lap in the eNASCAR Ignite Series, a virtual proving ground for young racers on iRacing. The breakout was enough to get Caruth noticed by the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program in 2018, which then opened up a whole series of opportunities.

By 2019, he was driving an actual vehicle, a Legend car at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and his very first taste of real speed. Two years later, he would be the recipient of the Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award, not just for his accomplishments on the track, but because of the cultural importance of his existence in the sport.

Caruth has raced full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since 2023. In 2024, he had a breakout year with Spire Motorsports with the support of Rick Hendrick, winning his first race and accruing 5 top-fives, 11 top-10s, and earning two poles. Not bad for a kid who didn’t even touch a real race car until he was seventeen, and it’s all thanks to his drive to succeed and the drive for diversity program.

The Drive for Diversity Youth Driver Development Program is a program created by NASCAR and Rev Racing to scout and nurture talent within underrepresented communities. It was not created to tick diversity boxes. It was created to widen the competitive pool and prove that greatness doesn’t come with a pedigree-only opportunity.

Bubba Wallace is more than a mentor

Rajah Caruth’s rise mirrors Bubba Wallace’s own theatrical grind. Wallace wasn’t from a family with a racing legacy either. His early years were the toughest, with battles on the tracks and many emotional battles trying to confront the isolating prospect of being among only a handful of black drivers there. As Wallace mentioned in an interview with BlackBook Motorsport, “People didn’t always believe I belonged here. But I believed in myself, and that’s what kept me pushing.“

Just as Caruth, Wallace’s breakthrough came through the Drive for Diversity program. He became a man in the K&N Pro Series and made history with wins in the Truck Series and later as the only Black driver to win a Cup Series race in the modern era, and the first since Wendell Scott. Doors had to be kicked down by Wallace, but Caruth had someone to keep them open. This relationship isn’t only about a pad of mentorship but also one about representation, resilience, and the two of them forever changing the game’s narrative. 

In 2021, Bubba Wallace signed with Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin at 23XI Racing as their #23, a landmark moment in his career. Then, as part of 23XI’s sponsor, McDonald’s’ “McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden Mentors program“, Wallace worked closely with Caruth. “Mentorship is important in racing and in life, and I’m honored to help elevate young leaders as they pursue their passion and dreams,” Wallace said in 2021. A young Caruth, making his way up the ranks, also added, “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be mentored by Bubba through this McDonald’s program.”

While Rajah Caruth keeps shining, the question is not if he deserves a place; it is how far he can go. The 2024 Truck Series run has already turned heads, and it culminated in him winning the Most Popular Driver award in 2024. With the proper support and his ongoing mentorship from Wallace and NASCAR, the sky isn’t even the limit; it’s just the next checkmark. 

Wallace has transitioned into the role of mentor and trailblazer. That’s why, together with his partnership with 23XI Racing, he has become an advocate for inclusivity within the sport. But really, he’s bigger than that. He’s a culture shifter. In mentoring stars like Caruth, Wallace is building a legacy far greater than trophies.