Last season GMS Racing announced that they were closing their doors a the end of the 2023 season leaving its drivers – Rajah Caruth, Daniel Dye, and Grant Enfinger – without a ride for the 2024 season.

While Kye and Enfinger have found rides, Rajah Caruth was left without a ride…until now.

Spire Motorsports has announced that Caruth will be driving the number 71 truck in the Craftsman Truck Series for the 2024 season.  Caruth will have a familiar voice in his ear with crew chief Chad Walter, who was Caruth’s crew chief last season, will be reprising that role for Caruth at Spire. 

Caruth hopes to be among the field of 36 drivers for the Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16.

Caruth spoke on his new ride via a press release saying, “I’m usually a pretty stoic guy, emotionally, but it’s hard not to tear up a little bit thinking about this opportunity. There was a lot of uncertainty over the winter in almost every sense of the word. I just feel really blessed to be able to drive for Spire Motorsports and to be able to have Chad come with me. I’m flattered to have the support of HendrickCars.com and, of course, Mr. H (Rick Hendrick) and the whole Hendrick family. It’s a dream to be here and to have a full season and to have a place where I can grow is pretty special. I’m ready to get back to work and continue what we’ve done over the last few months. Huge thanks to Spire, Chevrolet, General Motors and everyone who supports me and my family for making this happen. I can’t wait for Daytona. Hopefully, I can make everybody proud.”

Spire Motorsport co-owner Jeff Dickerson spoke on Caruth and Spire Motorsports saying, “we’ve talked about seminal moments for Spire Motorsports in the past, and I think this is another one of those moments.  Rajah Caruth is an exceptional young man. He’s a very talented driver with a bright future. He’s obviously young in his career but he’s mature beyond his years. You hear people talk about an ‘it’ factor and when you talk to him and get to know him, it’s pretty obvious he has ‘it.’ We’re exceptionally fortunate to be able to bring Rajah into the mix and pair him with Chad Walter. Those guys worked together last season so to be able to keep them together should go a long way in terms of chemistry and being competitive. Outside of that, this is just a good situation for everyone. It’s as simple as that.”

Chad Walter, who has been a part of NASCAR since 1996 spoke on Caruth via a press release saying, “that kid, Rajah, has changed my life.  I don’t know of anyone else who I’d want to work harder for, or have wanted to work harder for, over the last 15 years of my career. He’s so uplifting in so many ways. He works hard and he wants to get better. I’ve worked with some really good drivers in my past, but Rajah really stands out. He goes about things the right way and his passion for this has really made an impact on me. I jumped at the opportunity to work with him again. It’s kind of a crazy business we work in but when I found out that this could come to fruition – that we could do this again together – there was no other option for me.”

The 21-year-old Caruth is a native of Washington, D.C. and has driven in the Truck and Xfinity Series.  The NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program alum received the Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award in 2021. When not racing, Caruth is a student at Winston-Salem State University.

Spire Motorsports expands into the Craftsman Truck Series after buying Kyle Busch Motorsports and Rowdy Manufacturing last year.  Former KBM driver Chase Purdy will be driving the number 77 Spire Motorsport truck for the 2024 season.