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Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rajah Caruth Defeats Corey Heim, Layne Riggs for Nashville Truck Win

Originally posted on Racing America on SI
By Joseph Srigley | Last updated May 30, 2025 11:19 PM ET

It’s been nearly 15 months in the making, but Rajah Caruth has returned to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, capturing the victory in Friday’s Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.

In a showcase of pure speed and tenacity, the native of Washington, D.C. was able to keep Corey Heim and Layne Riggs, two of the strongest drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, behind him throughout the final green-flag run of the race, to secure the victory.

Heim, a four-time winner in the opening 12 events of the season, spent much of the final 20 laps of the event within one second of the race-lead, and at one point found himself side-by-side and to the outside of Caruth, but couldn’t make the pass, getting denied his fifth win of the year.

RACE RESULTS: 2025 NCTS Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway

The driver of the HendrickCars.com No. 71 Chevrolet managed to keep in front by just over a half-second, taking his second career win in the NASCAR Truck Series, and the ninth in the series for Spire Motorsports.

Caruth joins Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson as the only drivers to earn multiple NASCAR Truck Series victories for the organization making waves across the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Photo by Sean Gardner, Getty Images

“I didn’t expect that at all,” Caruth told FOX Sports after the race. “Those guys were breathing down my neck the whole run. My pit crew won that race. Yeah, they won that race for us got us off pit road [with the lead] twice.”

While the pit crew, a mix between HYAK Motorsports and Spire Motorsports crew in the NASCAR Cup Series, helped him to get the race-lead, Caruth did an amazing job to hold onto it, and through the final laps of the race, when things were getting tense, the 22-year-old driver was able to lock in.

“I was just asking myself ‘How bad do you want it?” Caruth added. “I don’t know, I just try my best and we had clean air and their stuff was better, but I just did my best. That was it.”

Corey Heim finished in the runner-up spot on Friday evening, putting together a series-leading eighth top-five result in the first 12 events of the season. Now, the Georgian driver will turn his focus to Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event, where he’ll make his second start of 2025 for 23XI Racing.

Layne Riggs recorded his third straight top-five result in third-place, while Daniel Hemric and Corey Day rounded out the top-five. Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Bayley Currey, and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top-10.

In an uncharacteristic evening for Kyle Busch, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion got a penalty for pulling out of line before the start-finish line, and finished a disappointing 15th, in the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado RST, a teammate to race-winner Rajah Caruth and top-five finisher Corey Day.

Leaving Nashville, Corey Heim continues to have a commanding lead in series point standings, holding a 122-point margin over second-place Daniel Hemric, who takes the spot from Chandler Smith, who falls to third. Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger round out the top-five.

Next on the calendar for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is the end of the six-week early Summer stretch, with a return to Michigan International Speedway, the two-mile speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan.

The DQS Solutions & Staffing 200 Powered by Precision Vehicle Logistics will take place on Saturday, June 7 at 12:00 PM ET on FOX, NASCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.