HMS prodigy Rajah Caruth left wishing for more despite third-place finish in Bristol Truck race

Following the Truck race at Bristol, Rajah Caruth strengthened his playoff position with a +35 advantage. However, Caruth was still left disappointed at the end of the race on Thursday night.

This was because Rajah Caruth wasn't happy with the place he finished at. The Spire Motorsports driver took home a third-place finish and 52 points from the race, the second most of the drivers in the top 5.

But what Caruth wanted was a win, which he claimed he had in his grasp.

"I had a chance to win and I don't feel like I execute it well ... just replaying what I could have done differently on those last two or three restarts," he said in a post-race interview.

Rajah Caruth claimed that he should've chosen to run the top. Speaking about his battle with Corey Heim and Christian Eckes, Caruth elaborated as per NASCAR:

"I wasn’t gonna fence him (Heim), but we were close. But yeah, just fun racing with Corey and Christian. They’re the perennial contenders, so to be in the mix of those guys all night was really good."

In the end, Rajah Caruth emphasized that what he desired the most was a win, wishing it was him celebrating in the victory lane instead of Layne Riggs.

Having said that, he claimed he was happy for Riggs, adding that he deserves it for all the hard work he has put in.

Jeff Gordon opened up on why HMS decided to support Rajah Caruth

After Rajah Caruth got a major opportunity to run full-time with Spire in the Truck Series in 2024, Jeff Gordon spoke about his confidence in the young driver. Hendrick Motorsports had fielded Caruth in a one-off race at Phoenix in 2023 in Xfinity, in which he bagged a finish inside the top 15.

A few months later, the full-time Spire announcement came along with Hendrick Cars being Caruth's major sponsor. Speaking about HMS shepherding Caruth in his NASCAR journey in February, the 4x Cup champion Jeff Gordon said:

"We knew there was an opportunity at the end of last year to put him in a car. It was kind of collaboration between Chevrolet … it was really Rick (Hendrick), Rajah’s dad, and Chevrolet who sort of had the initial conversation. But what’s evolved since then is how impressed we are with him."

Gordon suggested that Caruth being a passionate, well-spoken, and dedicated driver were all qualities that convinced HMS to support him in his NASCAR journey.

It'll be interesting to see how Rajah Caruth's season turns out in 2024. He's already in the playoffs, sitting in a comfortable spot, hoping to win the championship in his very first season.