Rick Hendrick’s Xfinity Protégé Unravels the Impact of Finer Equipment in NASCAR With Bold HMS Revelation

Rajah Caruth has gone from strength to strength in his NASCAR career. The Truck Series regular earned a golden opportunity to represent Hendrick Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway earlier this year. Starting in the No.17 car in the Xfinity Series season finale, Caruth finished 14th to round up a year of progress.

Appearing as a guest on The Money Lap Live, the youngster revealed the pros of his experience with Rick Hendrick and Co. As Caruth stepped up to the No.17, he saw a difference in the quality of the equipment. He explained that despite improving the equipment, it also demanded a different expertise. Hendrick Motorsports has been the most successful team of recent years, making it a unique experience for Rajah Caruth.

Rajah Caruth sheds light on the difficulty of using better equipment

Rajah Caruth is no stranger to Xfinity Series racing. He has made 15 Xfinity starts in an Alpha Prime Racing car. His best finish came at Martinsville in 2022, where he finished 12th. The youngster has previously shown glimpses of his talent, which has attracted Rick Hendrick‘s attention.

As his fellow Xfinity driver Parker Kligerman questioned Caruth about a change in environments and its impact on his performance, the 21-year-old said, “I mean, that was pretty spot on. I think the stuff was better, but it wasn’t easier, if that makes sense. You had to be that much more aware of your inputs, where you place the car, and like situations in traffic.”

“All of that would just magnify cause before racing with Alpha Prime, I figured out, ‘Right, this is my max capacity or the max I can go without crashing the thing.”

Rajah Caruth has had a tough time in the Truck Series. Having scored three top-tens in the season’s opening 20 races, he is 16th in the final standings. He has been able to lead only a single lap in 2023 in the No.24 Chevrolet Silverado. With GMS Racing shutting down its operations this year, a bigger opportunity came calling as HMS dived in.

Regarding the change in race scenarios with the equipment, Rajah Caruth said, “We’d run 20th to 25th and then through attrition or late-race stuff, then we’d finish 18th, 16th or 12th. Whereas with this deal it was like you know I had to hit my marks to run 10th to eighth place lap times. That was a new thing for me.”

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The No.17 car has had some excellent drivers race in it. The HMS Cup Series team has used the No.17 as a medium to make Xfinity Series appearances occasionally.

Hendrick Motorsports No.17 car has had some big-hitters of NASCAR drive it

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From 1987 to 1990, NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip raced to nine Cup wins in the No.17. The most memorable win on that glorious run was Waltrip’s victory at the 1989 Daytona 500. Despite its dominance in the premier competition, HMS has only 26 wins in Xfinity. Tony Stewart was the last HMS driver to win an Xfinity Series race at the 2009 Daytona race.

Among the notable drivers of the car, Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky drove the car several times. Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Alex Bowman have started in the No.17 car at least once and have stacked 3 top-5s, four top-10s, and a pole position together. Rajah Caruth got a chance to show his talent on the grand stage and will continue to do so in the future.

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