From the gamer’s chair to the driver’s seat: Rajah Caruth’s incredible NASCAR journey

Many people who choose not to participate in sports elect to simulate the experience by playing sports video games. Rajah Caruth’s life has taken a different path, as it was his passion for racing video games that helped develop his track towards becoming a NASCAR driver. We’ll take a look at how the remarkable story unfolded.

Caruth started to take an interest in motor vehicles at a young age. He told WXIII 12’s website “From the Cars movies, I’ve seen them when I was younger, to collecting diecast toys, really as I grew older, and then going to my first race when I was 12, playing video games, you know, on PlayStation and then getting my start racing virtually in 2018 when I was 16 years old.”

The Los Angeles Times noted that Rajah Caruth didn’t come from a racing family or background, so he would have to chart his own way towards a future in the industry. Caruth played eNASCAR’s Ignite Series video game, which allows players to imitate real-life racing from the comfort of their chair.

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When Caruth was first introduced to the Ignite Series, he didn’t think much of it as a key to future success. “I saw iRacing at first and was like, ‘this is just the next video game,’” he told WUNC’s website.

WTOP’s website reported that Caruth didn’t start to drive until he was 17 years old, which was right around the time he was falling in love with the Ignite Series game.

NASCAR founded a “Drive for Diversity” program, which has given black drivers the opportunity to join the circuit and hone their skills. Caruth’s case was interesting, because he didn’t actually drive real racecars, but was selected for the program anyway due to the potential he showed as a video game racer.

iRacing executive Steve Myers told WUNC’s website, “There isn’t really a sport that I can think of that more closely represents the real action to the virtual one. You’re using the same hand inputs, you’re using the same foot movements. All of the same mechanical functions that you have to race in the real world you’re doing in the simulator as well.”

However, there was still a learning curve for Caruth. “Racing online, I learned how to get information through my eyes, my hands and my ears,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “When you get in the real-life car, you’re used to having all your senses from the get-go and using them to feel vibrations and sensations provided by the vehicle.”

“At first, I didn’t really figure out how to kind of marry the two. But now, being a little bit in, they really work hand in hand where I almost feel like I have a leg up. I’m only used to have so many… ports… kind of like how you have like USB stuff on a laptop. I have way more than I’m used to when I get in the real-life car and that gives me a leg-up sometimes.”

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Caruth earned his first victory in March 2024 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, winning a Truck Series race. In the process, he became the third black driver to win a NASCAR national series race, according to Sports Illustrated.

“As a kid, you think about how that first one will feel. But I guess my focus is putting together a full season, honestly,” Caruth told Auto Racing Digest.

Caruth told the Charlotte Post after the landmark victory, “So many people helped me get to this point, and I can’t believe it. I just stayed cool. We lost track position in little portions of the race, and we stayed in the game…my guys got me a great stop, and we just executed.”

Caruth told WAMU’s website that he never loses sight of how he got to NASCAR. “I think about myself as a little kid, going to my first races, watching races on YouTube, playing with my toy cars, playing video games. That’s always been driving me. It’s just the love for the sport, the passion for it.”

Caruth still values education despite his emerging racing career. He attends Winston-Salem University, and it’s probably no surprise that he majors in Motorsports management.

Caruth shared some feedback and the process with how he got involved with NASCAR’s Driver Diversity program in the first place. He told Black Girl Nerds’ website, “You make a video stating how the program will help promote your racing career, and you list all the things you’ve done on and off the track,” he said.

It makes sense that video game racing might be a legitimate pipeline for additional racing in the coming years. “I feel like it’s just the wave of the future,” Caruth told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s big, right? Because that’s the only way I was able to get my start.”

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