Rajah Caruth, a student at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), has been named the 2024 Most Popular Driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Caruth received the honor at NASCAR's annual banquet in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the sport celebrated its 2024 season. This marks the first time he has won the award, following his debut in the Truck Series during the 2023 NASCAR season.

The connection between NASCAR and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is rooted in the Campus Lab Program, a groundbreaking initiative that offers HBCU students real-world experience in the sports industry. Launched in 2023 by Caryn Grant, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion and a Howard University graduate, the program has fostered collaboration between NASCAR and HBCUs.

Caruth, a product of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program, competes full-time for Spire Motorsports in the Truck Series. He previously raced part-time for Alpha Prime Racing in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

Born in Atlanta and raised in Washington, D.C., Caruth's passion for racing began at a young age. After attending his first race at Richmond Raceway in 2014, he knew he wanted to become a race car driver.

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“Racing was always it for me,” Caruth told USA Today, recalling his childhood fascination with the “Cars” movie franchise and his growing obsession with motorsports.

In 2023, Rajah Caruth made history when he scored his first career win at Las Vegas, becoming the third Black driver to win a national series race, joining Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace. In 2021, Caruth received the Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, an honor recognizing a driver’s on-track performance, sportsmanship, and community involvement.

Caruth’s 2024 season with Spire Motorsports was a success, with the 22-year-old driver earning one win, five top-five finishes, 12 top-10 finishes, and a seventh-place finish in the point standings. It was a breakout year for Caruth, who not only captured his first Truck Series victory but also showed significant improvement as a driver.

In addition to his racing career, Caruth is a senior at WSSU, where he is pursuing a degree in Motorsports Management. Last month, Winston-Salem State launched a new motorsports management program, making it the first public university in North Carolina to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in the field and the first HBCU to do so. The university also became the first in the state to offer NASCAR’s Campus Lab Program.