Tonight was a solid night for Rajah Caruth. The NASCAR Truck Series driver is advancing to the Round of 8 in the playoffs. Caruth came home with a P7 finish after a tough qualifying session and starting in the middle of the field.
Rajah Caruth is having a good season this year in the Truck Series. He won at Las Vegas earlier this year. In the last seven races, Caruth has two top-5 finishes and three top-10s, including a pole award.
While he isn’t a world-beater right now, Caruth has been building a solid season. He enters the Round of 8 under the cutline. Talladega being the first race of the round will not make things easier.
After the Kansas race, Rajah Caruth spoke with Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports about his night.
“Yeah I had a good start to the race and then it just stepped out on me. That’s literally the last two races here, I’ve just been really loose the start of the race and kind of in traffic,” Caruth explained. “I don’t know if it’s something I got to do with my tire prep or what. It could have been worse, but I just managed it kind of the best I could and we made the most of our night.
“I’m thankful for my HendrickCars.com group for believing in me. It was fun there I think I learned a lot trying to just deal with the balance of my truck. Definitely you know I feel like I can make speed here I just haven’t been able to finish that well. So, overall a great night, well not a great night, but thanks to Mr. H and Mrs. Linda, Jeff and TJ, and the men and women at Ally Financial, Team Chevy.”
Rajah Caruth battles his way to Round of 8
As Rajah Caruth said to Pockrass, his truck got loose early in the race. He had to collect himself and be patient with his truck. It paid off, too. These top-10 finishes add up and will help him move through the playoffs.
Eight points under the cutline puts Caruth in a decent position. No one wants to have to overcome any deficit, but it could be much worse than just single-digit points. Corey Heim is +38 to the line and Christian Eckes is +29. But after that, drivers are pretty vulnerable.
Ty Majeski is only 14 points to the good, and Nick Sanchez is only eight points up on Caruth for the fourth spot in the playoffs. Only four will advance after Dega, Miami, and Martinsville. So, avoiding mistakes will be crucial. Heim is coming off a win tonight and has a lot of momentum.
Talladega can make or break a driver in the Round of 8. An early DNF or poor finish will put a driver almost into a must-win position immediately. Rajah Caruth is hoping to keep his solid streak of races going so he doesn’t fall victim to the superspeedway trap.
