Why it's time for NASCAR Truck Series driver Rajah Caruth to worry

It's not time for Rajah Caruth and his No. 71 team to panic, but the 22-year-old's poor start to the season must raise concerns for the driver and his crew. 

Caruth, the only full-time African-American driver in the Truck Series, is coming off a 2024 season in which he earned his first Truck Series win and Truck Series playoff berth. Going into 2025, expectations were high for the third-year driver. 

Six races into the 2025 Truck Series season, however, Caruth and the No. 71 team have struggled. Crashes at Daytona and Atlanta put Caruth in an unfavorable position, and while top-10 finishes at Las Vegas, Martinsville and Bristol are reasons for optimism, an uncharacteristic 22nd-place run at Homestead got sandwiched in between. 

Caruth is 14th in the Truck Series standings, 46 points behind Jake Garcia for the 10th and final provisional playoff spot. That's a stark contrast to 2024, when Caruth had five top-10 finishes — including a win at Las Vegas and a third-place finish at Daytona — in the first six races and was sixth in the standings. 

Over the 23-race schedule in 2024, Caruth never fell below seventh in the standings. He ended his first season at Spire Motorsports with 12 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 11.6. 

Through six races this season, Caruth has yet to finish inside the top five. Another big difference from 2024 to 2025 is his lack of stage points, as he's only scored nine and hasn't won a stage through the first six events. His average finish is only 17.5. 

While the No. 71 team has three top-10 results, its relative lack of pace is alarming. Aside from leading 85 laps at Bristol after staying out when the rest of the field pitted, Caruth hasn't spent much time racing with the leaders or contending for wins. 

Forty-six points is far from a insurmountable gap to the playoff cut line, especially for a No. 71 team capable of grinding out good finishes. It's also worth noting that Caruth winning any of the 12 remaining regular-season races would automatically put him into the postseason field. 

However, for a No. 71 team that has championship aspirations, a lack of race-winning speed and its current points hole should be a major cause for concern. Major points turnarounds don't just happen overnight. 

Caruth and the No. 71 team need a concerted effort to put themselves back into a playoff spot, starting with Friday's race at Rockingham Speedway.