The timing proved to be immaculate as Spire Motorsports waited for the day Rajah Caruth formally graduated from Winston Salem State University to announce his full-time return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Caruth will drive the No. 71 with continued support from HendrickCars.com. A crew chief and staffing lineup will be announced at a later date.

He won at Las Vegas in March, reached the Round of 8, and captured Rookie of the Year honors.

“He took the incredibly high expectations we placed on him to start the year and exceeded them in every way,” said Jeff Dickerson, Spire Motorsports co-owner. “I’m impressed with how he’s balanced his commitments to his race team, his craft, the media and his growing fanbase while managing a full workload at Winston-Salem State University. Our organization believes in Raj, and he has consistently shown the leadership, form and work ethic that every team looks for in a driver. Everyone at Spire Motorsports is really happy to run it back with him next season.”

Prior to landing at Spire, Caruth bounced around across several one-off opportunities in Trucks and Xfinity but has found a home team and support structure.

“It is great to have a home and stability heading into next year,” Caruth said in a team release. “I believe this is the first time in my career I won’t be with a new team or competing in a different series at the start of the season. I really appreciate the opportunity Jeff and T.J. (Puchyr, co-owner) have given me, and I’m excited to continue preparations for 2025. Our organization has really grown over the past year, and we have shown what we are capable of. We have set the bar high for the season, and the expectation is to win more races and compete for a championship.”

Caruth earned a Bachelor of Science diploma from WSSU on Friday with a study in Motorsports Management, which required a lot of back-and-forth from class to the race track, but not any more.

“I’m glad to be done with school,” Caruth said. “It required a lot of hard work and sacrifice, along with diligent time management between coursework and everything associated with racing, including team meetings, simulator time and travel. I appreciate everything Dr. (Clay) Harshaw, Dr. (Dennis) Felder and all my professors at Winston-Salem State have done to help me finish school while chasing my dream. It is super cool to have the faculty, student body and WSSU National Alumni Association following me in my journey and cheering me on. The crew chiefs I’ve had through the years have been flexible with my schedule so I could finish this chapter, and I’m ready for racing become my lone focus.”